Mr. Speaker, I will try to be brief.
The motion asks for the government to consider removing GST on books and reading material. This inhibits and puts up blockades and barriers in people's journey down the road to literacy. The worse effect is for the people who cannot afford it. That is what my colleague pointed out. People who can barely afford to buy a book have to also pay the 7% GST.
The Reform Party says that it supports tax incentives but not GST on books. Liberal members on this side are telling us that they appreciate the literacy issue but removing the GST from books is not necessarily on their agenda.
The last Liberal member who spoke created an interesting debate, and I have to take him on. He indicated that we do not need school boards. That is a major debate.
School boards, university senates and boards of directors of community colleges are trying to create an ownership of their communities and regions by representing parents and children to try to envision the future of their education. At the moment, there is no national vision on education as it has been decentralized to the provinces.
A national vision creates a vision for the journey from kindergarten to grade 12. After grade 12, when they graduate, we drop them off. If the student survives, great. We congratulate them if they find a career. If they do they will probably be wealthy enough to buy a house or a vehicle and maybe some books for their children, but there is no journey.
Our acts of education say that the provinces are responsible for our children until they are 21 years old. In reality, the majority of these graduates are 17 and 18. We are short-circuiting our investment on our children.
Why not invest in our children regardless of what journey or where they are at in high school, university, trade school, community college, business school or any other school they are in until they are 21 or 25 years old? Why not take this huge tax grab that we call GST and invest it correctly?
Historically, the biggest tax incentives came after the second world war. The country was ready to fight in a war against some aggression in the world and suppress it. We won that war. Now this tax incentive in money and resources is to make our lives safe and peaceful in an international community. However, we cannot do this without the betterment of our children and a vision for our youth in this great country we call Canada from coast to coast to coast.
The GST is a major test for the parties. The hon. member is raising a major issue. The GST on the print media is a disincentive for these children and does not give them the opportunity to get their hands on books, magazines and a learning stage. This is a simple test.
Other bigger debates will come into this House and I look forward to being a big part of those debates if they enter the House. In the meantime, let us take the GST off. That is all the member is asking.