Madam Speaker, my friend's question is a very valid one. I want first of all to say that while there was some enthusiasm on the part of business for a blended sales tax, I think it was also predicated on the fact that they were assuming it would be blended across the country. Increasingly as companies do business across provincial lines and internationally, this adds even more confusion in terms of the business that they do. However, we will set that aside and I will answer my friend's question directly.
Our position as a political party is that we would like to see the eventual phase out of the GST. As we get into a more fiscally realistic era it would make sense.
Tax cuts obviously will become a reality one day. The fairest way would be to eliminate and phase out the GST. The reality is to go from its present level to zero in one fell swoop would be irresponsible. We simply cannot afford that as a country at this point. Therefore, a phase down to us makes more sense.
A phase down of the GST would create a lot more jobs than an across the board corporate tax cut, an across the board personal tax cut. I agree that some selected tax expenditures would be appropriate as well, but the GST phase down would put money in people's pockets immediately and hopefully one day we would see the end of the dreaded GST.