Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague seems to be suggesting that there is no need for a tax credit, and that we should just give everybody in Canada a refund. Where does he think those kinds of dollars would come from? That would upset the apple cart so much that there would hardly be any dollars left for anything in life.
Governments have to make a decision and that decision is based on what they think will get the best results. We responded directly to the firefighters, to their organization. This is what they asked for. There are 85,000 volunteer firefighters in this country. I have talked to a number of firefighters. We attended the various sessions on the Hill and we attended their organizations. The vast majority of firefighters is very pleased with the government's approach.
There is always the hope that every bill, every option and every motion will cover every person in Canada, but that is not the case. The people I have talked to say this initiative has been very widely accepted by the vast majority of volunteer firefighters.