Mr. Speaker, all week the finance minister has been huffing and puffing about how he has delivered Canadians from high taxes and hidden tax grabs. Curiously, though, his budget made no mention of lowering gas taxes which make up almost half the price of a litre of gasoline.
The finance minister must be too busy to explain that the current gas price crisis can partially be blamed on the fact that the government refuses to remove an excise tax that was put in place in 1981 to pay for the creation of Petro-Canada. This tax costs Canadians an extra 8 cents per litre every time they fill up.
In the 19 years this tax has been in effect the government has skimmed approximately $30.4 billion from Canadians. The original cost of Petro-Canada was $1.46 billion. That is an extra $28.9 billion that the government has quietly been pinching from Canadians over the last 19 years.
When the finance minister howls with delight over his supposed tax cuts, Mr. Speaker, you will forgive me if all I hear is a lot of hot air.