Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting that all the questions concern an airport security tax when this is a budget implementation bill. It should show the government the seriousness and concern all members of the House have regarding one part of the budget implementation bill.
This is the same government that collects billions of dollars in employment insurance premiums to the tune that it has three times the amount of money that people who deal with these things say is required for future downturns in the economy.
This is an opportunity for the government to do the right thing. The parliamentary committee on transportation studied the issue for three months. It went into great detail and recommended to the government that the costs of airline security be borne across the board by taxpayers, industry and consumers. The government has decided to ignore the recommendations of the committee and implement the airline security tax.
There is another issue I will ask about. The government gave security equipment to an association to maintain and look after it. Will the government use this money to pay for the equipment it bought and then gave away? Will it double pay for something that belonged to it in the first place?
The government is not only ignoring the recommendation of the committee, which is an abuse of parliament. It is paying twice for something Canadian taxpayers have already paid for. Will the government get the equipment back without paying for it?