Madam Speaker, I rise again as a result of the member's statement about the GST being good for Canada.
The auditor general just recently announced that $7 billion of underground economy is resulting in losses to the federal government and $5 billion to the provincial government. That is $12 billion of underground activity.
If the member for Kings—Hants asked me as a contractor to repair his roof and I said I could do it for $2,500 cash or $3,300 with a receipt, what amount do members think the average Canadian would agree to? They would agree to cash under the table because of the dreaded GST.
Where the member and I live we are compounded with the HST. I know the member is very proud of being a Conservative member and I respect him for that, but he cannot honestly say that the GST-HST is a good thing for the average Canadian. Average Canadians get hurt in their pockets every time they purchase something, especially reading materials and electricity. It is a burden on Canadians and results in an underground economy. I would like the member to respond to this.