Mr. Chair, I know the minister has dialogued with the Canadian Labour Congress and others. In fact, I was speaking with the secretary treasurer tonight and I know they are in discussions around doubling CPP, which the NDP is recommending.
I want to take us to a different place at this point in the conversation. I and the member for York West have repeatedly raised the issue of seniors living below the low-income cutoff, the ones living in poverty. Between 200,000 and 300,000 people are living below it.
Since the government has come in, it has lowered the tax rate. The corporate tax rate was at 22%. The comparative American tax rate is 36%. When the regime of corporate tax breaks has ended, we will have a 15% tax regime in Canada for corporate taxation.
With regard to people living below the low-income cutoff, the next stage of cuts in January 2011 will be approximately $1 billion to $1.2 billion. If we set that aside and say that corporations can survive quite well with the regime that would keep them in the area of 16% or 17%, would the government consider setting aside that tax break and invest that $700 million annually into the GIS to get those seniors above the poverty line?