Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join the debate on the report stage of Bill C-70.
Some members opposite would have us believe that the debate is about harmonization of the GST with the provincial sales tax in the Atlantic provinces. They would have us believe that the debate is about doing taxation better. That is not what it is about.
I take my cue from a headline on the Saint John Telegraph Journal editorial in January which said: ``Most people can hold their breath longer than the Liberals can hold their principles''. That is basically what the debate is about.
The debate we are having today is about integrity, about responsibility and accountability; the lack of accountability of the government to the Canadian people. The debate is about the government's failure to keep its election promise to scrap, kill and abolish the GST. It is about why Canadians cannot trust the government.
Integrity is important to Canadians. When I travel around my riding in British Columbia, people stop and tell me that they do not expect miracles from their politicians, but they do have some expectations. They expect politicians to show compassion, expect them to care and to set an example and to keep their word. The Government of Canada has fallen short of these expectations. It has not kept its word. It has broken faith with those who trusted it. Canadians cannot trust the government for three major reasons.
The first reason they cannot trust the government is because during a CBC town hall on October 18, 1993 the Deputy Prime Minister promised Canadians: "I have already said personally and very directly that if the GST is not abolished, I will resign". The Liberals refused to abolish the GST and it took months of denial, cover-up and flip-flops before the Deputy Prime Minister finally did resign to run again in a byelection. She resigned only after a poll told her that she would win. This is not resigning. This is not responsible action. This is not integrity.
It is like saying "you caught me this time, I will go through the motions but I still don't have to be accountable". Canadians do not trust this government.
Let me share with members again the second reason why this is the case. The finance minister said on April 4, 1990: "I would abolish the GST". That is what he said. Instead of abolishing the tax and keeping his word after being elected, the finance minister tried to cover up his broken GST promise. He hid behind the coat-tails of the new tax he created, the harmonized sales tax.
Yes, the finance minister, instead of keeping his word, bribed three Atlantic provinces with about $1 billion cost to the rest of the country to harmonize their provincial sales tax with the GST. This is his way of saying that the GST has been abolished.