Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has a way of trying to create a situation to justify making some sort of policy announcement. The increase in tariffs are nothing more than a tax cash grab.
It is just like when the Government of Canada, in the last budget, said that it would increase the age of retirement. Canadians will no longer be able to retire at age 65; it will now be age 67. The Conservatives said that it was because we have a crisis and cannot afford it, even though the independent officers recognized that Canada was in an excellent financial position and could afford it. The Conservatives create an impression that is just wrong.
The government knows how to increase taxes in a hidden and cruel fashion that affects our middle class. They should reflect on the degree to which they are taking Canadians for hundreds of millions of new tax dollars in this fiscal year alone.