Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the parliamentary secretary, who often fills in on the Standing Committee on Finance, where we discussed this bill.
I heard his speech. As the Liberals have been doing since this Parliament began, he made several references to helping the middle class. Given the testimony that we heard in committee, I think he will agree with me that the term “middle class” is not clearly defined. Officials from the Department of Finance refused to define it. The definitions varied depending on the witness, but no one seems to agree on what constitutes the middle class.
When all is said and done, it seems that the proposed tax cut will not help the middle class. He, as a parliamentary secretary, and I, as an MP, will see our taxes reduced by the maximum amount, which is about $700. However, the people who work as wait staff in the parliamentary restaurant or child care workers in the Prime Minister's office, for example, will not be entitled to any kind of tax cut.
Someone who is really part of the middle class, as defined by the median income in Canada, earns $31,000 or $32,000 a year. These people are not going to get anything. We tried to work with the government to amend the proposed tax cut and ensure that everyone who earns at least $11,000 could benefit. Under our proposal, anyone who earned the median income of $31,000 would have received $200, but they are not getting anything under the government's plan.
I would like my colleague to talk about how the government's measures, which are supposed to help the middle class, are unfair because they only help people who earn $45,000 or more. Parliamentarians here in the House will get the maximum tax cut of $700.