Madam Speaker, the member for Churchill raised a very good point. We are overtaxed. The wrong people are overtaxed, the people at the bottom. There is no doubt that the tax-free dollars need to be doubled so that people who earn $1,000 a month do not pay any tax. They need money to provide the basic essentials of life.
The FCM has done a wonderful job since it has been in existence. Because of it the infrastructure program came into existence back in 1996. The FCM pushed the former prime minister into saying that the first order of government really was the most important one. Unfortunately, former Prime Minister Chrétien would not admit that the FCM is a legitimate entity. I have tried for many years to get the government to acknowledge that the FCM is a legal entity other than being a creature of the provinces.
The FCM has raised many other issues. I am sure that in the future the FCM will continue to put pressure on the federal government to do its job, to be accountable, and to spend people's money wisely.