Madam Speaker, the reason I asked that is in the few hours we have had here today I think all parliamentarians would like to have some constructive time to continue to discuss this issue.
The deputy whip made the comment that lowering taxes would be a bad thing for the poor. I am not exactly sure what she was trying to say. It makes no sense to tax low income Canadians, people who actually make very little money.
One of the initiatives we are speaking about today is raising the personal exemption from around $7,000 to $10,000. That one initiative alone would take two million Canadians off the tax rolls overnight. Those are two million Canadians who simply should not have been there in the first place.
When I think of public policy and taxation rates I look at them from this standpoint. Many people believe, depending on where they live in the country, that the poverty line is around $21,000. If that were true we would be saying as a society that it is okay to tax individuals who make $14,000 less than the poverty line. I just do not think that is acceptable in any way, shape or form.
We are also focusing on another sector within society, the working poor. Those individuals get up every day, work hard and are very proud, but every day they keep working they find themselves falling further and further behind. One reason for that is that it has been far too long since our income tax brackets have been indexed for inflation. Some individuals may be making a bit more money from time to time but are actually taking home less money. Those are the persons who really need tax relief.
In order to grow our economy the Progressive Conservative Party is advocating providing Canadians with broad based tax relief but primarily concentrating on lower and middle income Canadians.
We are looking at indexing the child tax benefit. In the fall of 1997 the member for Shefford was successful in having a motion passed in the House with respect to that issue. That shows her commitment to children and to citizens who actually live in poverty.
The issue of poverty affects a vast number of Canadians. Canadians are becoming more and more sensitized to the issue. They are now seeing that we have turned the corner with respect to our fiscal house as a nation and at the provincial level in some cases, for example with the record growth we are now seeing in Ontario. We are at a state where we have a balanced budget which is a good thing for all Canadians regardless of on what side of the House members sit.
What I mean by saying that Canadians are becoming more sensitized is that they want us to address these issues. In a country as wealthy and innovative as ours we need to ensure that all Canadians live with a decent level of income so they can have decent shelter and food and their children who go to school can have a healthier diet and function in school.