Madam Speaker, I welcome the hon. member back to the chamber and congratulate her on her re-election.
The member for Northumberland—Quinte West talked about the tax credit for firefighters. When I first saw that, I was very pleased. A former colleague, Rick Casson, the member for Lethbridge, did a lot of work on it. I worked with Rick on a couple of different initiatives, as well as the member for Malpeque. It looked like a pretty good thing.
The budget has a number of initiatives that look like roses, but there is a bunch of thorns around them. When I saw the tax deduction for firefighters, I thought it was a great step. However, when one gets into the details, one sees that it is a non-refundable tax credit.
There are 50 firefighters in my riding of Cape Breton—Canso. Firefighters who make less than $22,000 are not eligible. They do the same job, they take the same risks, but they get no benefit. They have to choose between the $1,000 honorarium deduction or this. Does the member see the injustice in that application?