Madam Speaker, before answering my colleague's question, I would like to tell him that we are sorry he is leaving the Bloc Quebecois, but this is his decision.
He has worked with us for seven years. I can tell the House that I have worked with him on some issues and that he is very professional, he wants to get things done, he is a hard worker and he has integrity. I think his constituents will miss him. All the Bloc Quebecois team will miss him.
I would like to thank him for everything he has done during these seven years for his constituents, for his riding and for Quebec's interests.
I do not have much to add to my colleague's question because he has answered it himself. Yes, there might be a suspicion that some people will be cheated. Perhaps the question I could ask—I do not know who could answer it—is, when the government sends a $125 cheque to help people with their heating bill, why will everyone get a cheque?
Let us say that a single person lives with his or her mother, for instance, or with a student or a roommate who is working and that the person who signed the lease receives the $125 cheque to help with the heating bill, will the roommate also receive $125? This second person does not pay the heating bill. We are totally confused. All those who get a GST tax credit, whether they have an oil heating system or an electric heating system, will get $125, while this cheque is supposed to help those whose heating bill actually doubled. This is all very confusing.
The same holds true with the figures, which can be fiddled with. This is really confusing. As my colleague said, we can assume that there will be some slightly shady characters who will try to collect this cheque.
Something must be done, and the government must think twice before doing this. I think that if this cheque is going to be given to people to help pay their oil heating bills and if the government is going to refuse to take steps to lower fuel prices in Canada, the government should look into who will get a cheque to ensure that it really goes to pay the oil heating bills, as these bills have doubled.