Mr. Speaker, approximately 40% of a litre of gasoline is made up of taxes. That is pretty general. It varies a bit from province to province across the country.
The hon. member asks why we should not blame the oil companies. That is the government's way of handling situations. It has been that way for the seven years it has been in power since 1993. Canadians are getting fed up with it.
It is easy for a government to stand up and point the finger elsewhere. Either it is the fault of the provinces because they are not willing to sign some joint declaration of tax reduction, or it is the fault of oil companies or maybe the way the sun came up this morning, instead of taking responsibility for what it can control.
That is what the motion is all about. Why do we not look at what we can do in the Chamber? What we can do is offer Canadians some real tax relief, Canadians who are hard pressed at the moment every time they stop at the pumps. Truckers are trying to do their jobs and make ends meet. Farmers are out in the field trying to get their crops off and face these high input costs.
We as a group, when the motion comes to a vote on Tuesday, can vote for it to bring down taxes just a bit. We are asking the federal government to give up just a bit. It does not have to slash and burn its tax base. Lord knows it would not be prepared to do that. All it has to do is give up a bit so that Canadians have a better day tomorrow.