Madam Speaker, our colleagues on the other side seem to forget one thing when they say the sales tax harmonization was profitable for Quebec.
Of course we benefited from that, but we paid what was required for it before we could reap the benefits. I would compare that situation to a landlord investing $100,000 in renovations on a house in order to increase the rents afterwards.
Members opposite are saying: “Because the landlord refurbished his house, he earned a higher income from the rents, so it was profitable”. But the $100,000 the landlord spent on repairs in order to harmonize his building with standards, they refuse to take it into account, they will not give it to Quebec. However, they grant it to the Atlantic provinces because they presumably suffered some losses.
The costs of harmonization for the Atlantic provinces are reimbursed, but Quebec is denied compensation for the same costs. They will only take into account revenues and advantages obtained by Quebec because it implemented harmonization voluntarily but they will refund New Brunswick since that province was somehow forced into harmonization because the Liberal government wanted to show it had changed its GST.
When comparing things, one should do it properly. If the government is so certain it was not both judge and jury in this instance, it should submit its figures to a committee, as we are asking. Let the government submit its data and let the committee look at them impartially.