Mr. Speaker, there is no incentive for oil companies to increase production if the result is a drop in both price and their profits. We know this. The Liberal government knows this too. It has an incentive, therefore, to let prices stay high precisely because it rakes in millions of dollars in taxes: millions from small businesses, from seniors on fixed incomes, from farmers and from rural Canadians who do not have access to public transit.
Not only does the Liberal government profit by millions of dollars from Canada's most vulnerable with high gas taxes, but Environment Canada reported that to meet its Kyoto objectives the Liberal government wants a target price of over $1.40 a litre in the price of gas at the pumps, which is higher than what we are seeing at the pumps today.
My question is very simple. Why does the government talk about looking for ways to help vulnerable Canadians today when it secretly plans for higher prices at the pumps tomorrow?