Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his question. The first part of his question was probably more of a comment than a question. I am delighted to hear that the Bloc Quebecois is not opposed to harmonization. This means they will vote for this bill.
If I am not mistaken, they have a problem with the last election campaign. There is an election campaign coming up, let us see how it goes. But as regards the bill before us, if I understood correctly what my colleague, the hon. member for Louis-Hébert, said in his remarks, his party is not against harmonization. That is good and I am pleased to hear it.
As for the $900 million, if I got the point right, and I am the first to admit that I am not an expert in this matter, which may be a source of merriment to my hon. colleague across the way, any time a new tax or system is introduced, there are always transaction costs involved. They cannot be avoided.
In this case, the $900 million referred to are a form of payment designed to help in the implementation and integration of the new tax. Given the benefits to the local and Canadian economy, I would say that $900 million is an entirely reasonable amount, proportionate to what this tax will accomplish. That is all I can say.
The hon. member for Elk Island has the remaining three minutes.