I thank my colleague for his question about what my constituents think and want.
Of course my constituents were pleased to hear that the government is finally going to keep its solemn promise to lower the small business tax rate to 9%. It is about time. The government has already wasted two years in which it could have made good on that promise. It dragged its feet. The small business tax rate was already set to drop under legislation passed by the Conservatives in 2015. It was set to drop to 9% in 2017. However, it is now 2017 and the tax rate is still at 10.5%. Business owners are obviously frustrated about this because the Liberals made a solemn promise. They are halfway through their term in office and they have to decide whether they will keep that promise.
My colleague seemed to imply in his question that there is no cause for concern regarding the finance minister's situation, but that is not so. Small business owners in my community are telling me how out of touch the Prime Minister and the finance minister are with the reality of SMEs. The Prime Minister and the finance minister do not seem to realize what an SME is or what everyday life is like for SMEs. That is what I am hearing. The Prime Minister and the finance minister are out of touch and simply do not understand. That is why they are making mistakes. The tax reform has been a fiasco because they do not know what an SME is. They do not understand. That is what I am hearing from my constituents.