Mr. Speaker, the finance minister is very smug about his mini-budget election platform. As always, he is trying to be all things to all people. However, for the seventh straight year he has knowingly discriminated against the people of Mackenzie, British Columbia.
When the northern residents' deduction was changed in 1993, the district of Mackenzie was unfairly excluded. Mackenzie is a small, remote community more than 100 kilometres from a major urban centre. Much larger communities in the region, such as the cities of Grande Prairie, Fort St. John and Dawson Creek, qualified for the deduction and deservedly so, but why the continued discrimination?
Over the past seven years I have repeatedly asked the finance minister to correct this. Each time he has studied the issue and then refused. I guess if the Prime Minister's office believed the change would increase his election chances, then it would have been announced last week.
How sad that this Liberal government only believes in buying votes rather than doing what is right.