Mr. Speaker, last month the finance minister said that Canada risked falling back into a deficit so we had to keep taxes ratcheted up high.
Now we learn that the finance minister has actually overtaxed Canadians by $10 billion in just the first six months of 1998. He has set a new record for gouging taxpayers, taking billions from Canadians whom the government itself defines as living in poverty.
How could the finance minister miscalculate the budget surplus by so much? Why is he trying to hide overtaxation?