Madam Speaker, I must admit I came to this issue with an open mind. I wanted to be able to vote for the motion but when I read it, one thing came to my mind: either naivety or stupidity is involved. I think both of them were when this motion was put before the House.
The Canadian Alliance is trying to get Canadians to believe that by reducing the surtax by 1.5 cents a litre we are going to solve the gasoline price crisis in Canada. This is misleading, nothing more, nothing less.
I was interested in seeing the opposition come forward with proposals, such as how the provincial government should set up some mechanism. A good idea would be an ombudsman at the provincial level to monitor the price of gasoline. Has that party proposed it? Some sort of mechanism should be set up at the provincial level so whenever there is an increase by 10% the oil companies have to notify consumers. This is a provincial responsibility. Has that party proposed this? No, none of that. All that party has come forward with is rhetoric all day. It is terrible. I wasted part of my day listening to nonsense.