Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question.
This government is not interested in making the tax system more progressive. It believes quite strongly in a regressive tax policy.
I need not remind the member of the EI tax, the most regressive tax there is. I mentioned earlier that someone making $39,000 per year will pay the same amount of EI premiums as somebody making $300,000 per year. That is fundamentally unfair.
I would advocate tax reform in Canada that would build a fairer tax system. I would also advocate a flatter tax system. However the most pernicious, offensive and regressive taxes in Canada right now are our payroll taxes and EI premiums which are excessively high because the government is using them to pad its books and make its bottom line look better.
It is important to recognize that while the government is in the black, Canadians, particularly low income Canadians, are in the red.