Madam Speaker, that person, like all people who live in remote regions like the riding I represented before the last election, if he does not have any children and if he is not a senior, he will not get any compensation. This has a major economic impact in our regions. If he is looking for a job, there are additional costs on which he has not planned. If his wages are not very high, and suddenly there is a $10, $20 or $30 increase in the price of gas, he will be caught short.
Maybe if someone earns $100,000 a year, another $10 a week does not seem like very much. But for a person with a family income of $25,000 or $30,000 a year, it affects what is left to pay for the groceries and the rent. So the economy slows down because people make a mental calculation and say, “In the end, I lose out if I travel 30 kilometres or more. So it does not make any sense to continue working there”. And that leads to all kinds of other problems.
The government really does have its hands full with the sponsorship scandal. Nevertheless, in regard to this bill and the principle behind it, the increase in the price of gasoline leads to a redistribution of wealth. It must be admitted that there is a valid principle here and that is what the Bloc Québécois has been saying since the beginning. There must be major improvements to the bill now for the groups of people whom I mentioned in my speech. I hope that by the end of the debate, the government will finally support this.
There was a request that the bill be referred to committee first, which would have made it legally possible to expand it, give it a broader scope and make adjustments. The government refused to do so. I hope that the government is not going to hide behind an administrative procedure or a parliamentary practice. The hon. member for Peterborough just said a few interesting things. He said, “I hope that there might be some expansion in this legislation”. So I hope that all members of the House of Commons will view things in the same way, especially those on the Standing Committee on Finance, which is going to discuss this bill. The committee needs to improve it. A valid principle is being served here, but in regard to the procedures and the people who are going to receive the money, it is clearly not enough.