Mr. Speaker, I almost regret having said nice things about the hon. member, because now he is asking me a difficult question. I must admit that I did not look at the issue from this perspective.
The hon. member is talking about a tax. I hope he does not mean a corporate tax because, in addition to countervailing duties, these companies would indirectly have to add something themselves. I hope this is not what he means.
As for a tax, I would not go so far as to say what someone once told me. Not knowing what to reply, that person blurted out an answer, but the next day it turned out that the answer was completely false. Honestly, I would rather leave that question to the hon. member for Joliette. He is a well-known economist and a former economics teacher. I would not want to answer on his behalf. He will guide us.
However, something must be done quickly. Taxes are usually announced in a budget speech. We must not wait until April of next year for the Minister of Finance to announce some measure to help companies, because the government must provide that help now.