Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the NDP for his question and also for having listened to my speech. I was somewhat under the impression that only some of my colleagues from the Bloc were listening. So, I am glad to know that at least one other person was also listening.
The Bloc Québécois and I totally support the demand made by school boards, including by Quebec school boards, to be treated like municipalities with regard to the GST. In fact, that is included in the recommendations that the Standing Committee on Finance made to the Minister of Finance. There was a consensus. I would not say that all parties voted in favour of the measure, but the majority of them did.
I take this opportunity to underline a pending problem. The Federal Court made a decision on the application of the GST to school transportation. Many municipalities in Quebec and Ontario won their case at that time. Unless I am mistaken, about $12 million was to be paid back to municipalities. As far as we know, it is the only court decision that has been overruled by legislation. The former government had decided to tax the school boards retroactively.
I introduced a motion in the Standing Committee on Finance asking it to recommend to the Conservative government that it not impose the GST on school transportation since the Federal Court had ruled in favour of Ontario and Quebec school boards. It is not all school boards that are affected, but some of them. We also hope that the Minister of Finance will make a positive decision in his budget.
As the hon. member said, it is money that comes from the taxpayers' pockets and that should be used for education. There is something illogical about paying taxes to school boards if they must send that money to the federal government.