Mr. Speaker, those who were listening to the speech probably heard the message from the member that Canadians are paying higher taxes.
I quickly wrote down what I saw in the last couple of budgets. I saw an increase in the child care expense deduction from $5,000 to $7,000 for those who provide child care for preschool children. I saw a total elimination of the 3% surtax that was intended for deficit elimination. I saw a $675 increase in the basic amount of the non-refundable tax credit for all Canadians. I also saw that 600,000 Canadians were no longer paying tax.
On top of that, and the member has not taken it into account, I saw the government provide each and every Canadian with the opportunity to invest in RESPs for their children's education, another $400 a year annual credit.
I also saw a $1.7 billion increase in the non-taxable child tax benefit. I could go on but being an accountant I sat down and I calculated that Canadians in fact are paying less in taxes and getting more non-taxable benefits than they ever have since 1993.
What does the member mean by bracket creep? Does he understand?