Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the parliamentary secretary for that answer as it lays the groundwork for what I am going to say next.
I have a Yiddish proverb, and I use these quite often, “Together with the shrub the cabbage is beaten.” The government has run multi-year deficits so far, billions of dollars. In its search for a cabbage in the shrub, it has gone after the taxpayer every time through higher payroll taxes and a higher cost of living, with the carbon tax being applied at the consumer level. This means that companies are paying and passing it on to the consumers. People in Alberta are now seeing a carbon tax levy being directed onto their heating bills, and we have had a few weeks of very cold weather. Therefore, it is compounding the problem for families trying to make ends meet at the end of the month.
We are literally going after the shrub, the cabbage and everything. The government is beating every bush it can find to draw out more revenue. It was supposed to have a billion dollar surplus in 2019. Instead, it is a near $20 billion deficit so far. Therefore, I ask the member again—