Mr. Speaker, I assert that it is true. I would be happy to talk with my friend about it later.
That is only one example.
If we want to talk about productivity and helping business, we should consider the situation in Alberta of Mr. Nickerson. Mr. Nickerson mortgaged his home and his farm to purchase a limousine from the United States, which he transformed and now calls the longhorn limo. He brought the vehicle into Canada to rent it out. He was making a living.
The limousine passed the Alberta transportation safety inspection standards with flying colours. All of a sudden, the people at Transport Canada got wind that Mr. Nickerson had become a successful entrepreneur and they decided to impound his limousine. They are not convinced that it will pass certain safety standards. They will not tell him what the specific problem is. In fact, the bureaucrat who made the decision, Mr. Boily, decided that he would impound the car without having seen it for himself and without providing any kind of detail on what exactly was the problem.
This man basically mortgaged his entire life savings for this business and now the government has snatched his dream away with absolutely no explanation. Mr. Boily, who is 2,000 miles away, will go home tonight and sit down with his family for dinner. It is no sweat off his nose. But in Alberta, Mr. Nickerson has to live with friends because he has lost his business.
This is the type of arbitrary, ridiculous regulation and bureaucracy that people in this country run into all too often. It is shameful that members across the way would sit and mock this situation. It is shameful and they should be embarrassed.
Program after program which the government brings forward retards productivity in Canada. The Liberals talk about a productivity covenant. Virtually all of what members on the other side do in some way gets in the way of business and making the country more productive. Liberals find ways to build massive bureaucracies which take days, weeks and months to make decisions which people in the business world would make in a few minutes. That slows things down. Is it any wonder we trail the United States when it comes to productivity?
This has been pointed out by the Minister of Industry. My friend across the way is heckling. Let him heckle the Minister of Industry. He has pointed to the fact that Canada is falling further and further behind the United States when it comes to productivity. This means that our standard of living is falling as well. Friends across the way know it. They are upset. I have obviously touched a very sensitive area. They are very upset about this.
If the Liberals are concerned they should talk to the Minister of Industry because he raised it first in this place. The minister pointed out that if our standard of living and our rate of economic growth had stayed even with those of the United States over the last many years, the average family of four in Canada would have a standard of living $28,000 higher than it is today. That is $7,000 a person. My friend across the way doubts it, but I invite him to talk to the industry minister because he raised it in this place.
What is the impact of all this horrible Liberal record on Canadians? It is absolutely devastating.
I will read into the record a couple of letters that I have received from people across the country who are concerned about where the government is going on the issue of taxes. The first letter is from a gentleman from Clarenville, Newfoundland. He writes:
I understand you were interested in how much taxes Canadians were paying. Have a look at this. I work at the oil refinery at Come-By-Chance, Newfoundland. Last month there was an error in my paycheque due to a mix-up in the number of hours I had worked. When the mix-up was straightened out, payroll issued me a separate cheque to make up the difference. They owed for eight hours regular time and sixteen hours overtime. My gross pay came to $801.92. There was $536.20 taken out for income tax and $10.42 for union dues. My net pay was $255.30. This is a tax rate of 67%.
I invite my friend over there, who thinks of himself as an expert on these things, to come and check the pay stub because he is welcome to do it.