Madam Speaker, I was happy to hear the member for Medicine Hat admit that the harmonization system may well be a benefit. It seems to me it was that party that argued against the harmonization in this House.
I listened with intent as the member talked about the importance of reducing taxes and getting taxes back in the hands of everyday Canadians. He also asked where the money was coming from.
We have in this country a program of equalization payments. It is a very complex formula but basically the object is to bring everybody in the country to common standards in health and education. Through the mechanism of the equalization payments certain portions of this country are already sending money to the Atlantic provinces. As a nation we want to build a dynamic economy. One of the features is a harmonized sales tax in the Atlantic provinces to allow those provinces to compete internationally.
One of the big features of a harmonization package is to reduce sales taxes for Canadians in the Atlantic provinces. It did just what the member is talking about. It reduced taxes and allowed more disposable income in the hands of Atlantic Canadians. Can they not see that?