Mr. Speaker, like a large-mouthed bass, the member took my bait, because what the member for St. Catharines said when asking me a question before was half of the sentence. It is in the record where he said that the Liberals promised in the red book to scrap the GST, period.
I want to thank him because it is the first time since the 1993 election that a member from that party finally completed the sentence as it is on record, in the newspapers, in the media and in the red book. He clearly stated that the Liberals would replace the GST with an equally revenue generating tax.
I want to ask the member for St. Catharines, without revenue, how would the Liberals have eliminated the deficit that we inherited from the Conservatives? How would the Liberals have lowered the debt? How would the Liberals have had money to invest in infrastructure, in health, in post-secondary education?
The large-mouthed bass took the bait and he finally clarified what we committed to in the red book of 1993, to replace the GST with an equally revenue generating tax, and not mislead Canadians by saying replace and scrap the GST, period.
I am glad he took the challenge, and I will take him on any time.