Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member probably knows, the decision with respect to the northern allowance a number of years ago was based upon an independent analysis that was undertaken at the time to remove a whole variety of inconsistencies and anomalies in the law that existed then. The new regime was based upon recommendations of the task force.
The preference of the government going forward is to try to reduce the tax burden of Canadians generally and thereby improve the disposable incomes of all the citizens of our country.