Madam Speaker, I followed the reasoning of the hon. member who explained that the federal government takes in more taxes than it needs, for example with the GST. I would like him to apply the same reasoning to the huge profits the oil companies make in the circumstances. That is a world problem. Indeed, when the price of oil increases rapidly, oil companies make indecent profits on refining.
I will ask the Conservative member the question I asked earlier today. In the last 30 days, the average amount oil companies cashed for refining is 26.1 cents a litre. Over the Labour Day weekend, the price per litre was 46.4 cents on September 2 and 39.3 cents on September 3, 4 and 5. In the last 30 days alone, oil companies made profits of $1.4 billion, which is $800 million more than on the same days last year.
I would ask my colleague to use the same reasoning. I agree with the government using part of its revenues to help those most in need. However, oil companies must be brought to heel so they stop making indecent profits on the back of taxpayers. For 30 days, they overcharged between 20¢ and 35¢ a litre for their refining profit margin.
Would the hon. member agree with me that we must create a petroleum monitoring agency to bring them to heel once and for all?