Mr. Speaker, I strongly disagree with the member opposite that this would not have an impact. There would be an immediate impact. It would be an action way beyond any of the words offered by any of the members opposite tonight.
The member said that the government does not benefit that much but it has had a windfall of over $300 million. I do not see how that is not much of a benefit to the government.
I will take no lectures from any member opposite about seniors, especially after the last budget in which the government's increase to seniors will result in about $30 per senior by 2007. That is an absolutely shameful way to treat seniors in this country. I do not think we in this party need any lecture from the government on that.
We have offered other initiatives. Before the last election we talked about things to improve energy efficiency in Canada, like reducing the capital depreciation tax on manufacturers across this country as part of an overall energy framework. We talked about addressing things like the over-utilization of things like natural gas, which is causing home heating fuels to increase. People in this sector have been calling for some leadership from the government for years now and have not been getting any. This would lower the cost of these products over time and provide more stability. There are things like what the provincial Liberals in Ontario are doing in terms of deciding one day they may shut down all the coal fired plants, ignoring the good work done in clean coal technology in provinces like Alberta. It is just contributing to the instability and the overall increase in these prices.
The immediate thing the government could do would be to stop applying the GST to the excise tax and give back the $300 million windfall to Canadians. It is going to be reaping more of a benefit in the future. The government could look at things like a tax credit for hybrid vehicles. It could look at affecting capital depreciation rates. It could also look at an overall energy policy framework that would provide more stability to consumers and industries across this country.