Mr. Speaker, I would point out to my hon. colleague that the Liberal government reduced corporate taxes dramatically, from 26% down to 19% and the Conservatives are proposing a dramatic cut from 19% to 18.5%. I would point out that reducing corporate taxes gives us a competitive advantage in the world, which is extremely important.
I understand where the member is coming from, but I would point out to him that we need to be on that cutting edge. That gives us an extra cutting edge.
At the same time, I suggest that a reduction of the GST by 1%, which would cost the national treasury between $5 billion and $6 billion, could be better used elsewhere. The government across the aisle eliminated the $3 billion contingency fund that we had set up to deal with unexpected situations, such as the ones we have had in the past, such as SARS, BSE, et cetera.
The fact is the GST cut could better be used in terms of infrastructure investment. That would be very important.
I do believe a reduction in corporate taxes would encourage investment. It would encourage reinvestment in cities and communities. Obviously, it would make us extremely competitive internationally.