Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to ask the opposition House leader a question pertaining to this report that has been tabled by the Minister of Industry on the study of sport in Canada.
As many people know, the Liberal government has provided huge tax breaks in this year's budget to millionaire hockey players. For example, an average hockey player in the NHL makes about $1.8 million Canadian and the recent budget has given these individuals a tax cut of over $13,000. The Reform Party has been fighting for tax cuts for these individuals for a long time.
The other point I would like to make is that this country has a significant tax expenditure, that is, a tax supporting system at the federal level for our professional sports franchises. For example, a hockey box that a business would buy at a hockey arena for the Ottawa Senators, the Montreal Canadians or the Toronto Maple Leafs costs a business person about $100,000. He or she gets to write that off against taxable income which costs the taxpayers approximately $25,000 to $30,000 per box. This is not for the whole arena but per box per year. We are looking at literally tens of millions of dollars of tax supported sports franchises currently.
Does the Reform Party continue to support those great tax breaks for the wealthy? Does the hon. member intend to keep pushing for additional tax breaks for the NHL franchise teams which are in jeopardy in Canada right now?