Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his kind words. I do accept the logic that people should generally pay for the costs they incur, rather than offloading those costs onto government.
What I am attempting to have the present government release is what costs will be paid by which taxpayer. The member says that the carbon tax will burden the rich. I find that very hard to believe. Stats Canada has produced data that shows that low-income households spend a third more of a share of their budget on items that will be taxed by this levy than do rich households. That proportionality makes sense.
For low-income people, electricity, food, heat, and gas will be a large share of what they consume. Rich households spend on things that are unrelated to those basic necessities and as a result, in a percentage term, they will pay less in tax.
All I am asking for is that the government release the data it has to indicate how people of various incomes will be impacted by the new tax.