Mr. Speaker, small business owners across the country are worried about the impact of this new so-called harmonized sales tax that the government wants to impose on Ontarians and British Columbians.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has come out opposed to the HST and no wonder, when only 6% of its members, the small businesses across Canada, think that there would be any improvement in their competitiveness. Most of them realize that it is going to take money out of consumers' pockets and make it less likely that they can buy the goods and services that small businesses provide, so it is bad for the companies.
Why, if consumers and businesses are against it, is the government going to tax?