Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the comments from the member for Sydney—Victoria.
I know of the unfortunate circumstances with Devco in his riding. That has been a matter for concern for all Canadians and all parliamentarians. I thought I heard the Minister of Natural Resources announce in the House a fairly complete package to do the very best we can to help those people reposition their lives. There were a number of measures announced.
When the member talks about high income Canadians with respect to the 3% surtax, the vast majority of the balance of the 3% surtax being removed is really targeting middle income Canadians and lower income Canadians. There are some at the higher end who will also benefit, but I think we owe it to some middle income Canadians who have borne a very serious burden in balancing our books and bringing our deficit under control that they should receive some benefit from their hard work and their sacrifices. I have no compunction about delivering some target tax relief to middle income Canadians.
At the end of the day, reducing and eliminating the deficit is a means to an end. It means we have more flexibility now and in the future to direct government resources in more targeted ways that benefit more and more Canadians.