Mr. Speaker, I heard the hon. member just lamenting the fact that he did not have the opportunity to ask me a question, so I am happy to stand here now and give him the opportunity to at least answer a question, which is something that his leader never does, so maybe he will break that mould. It is a bit ironic after the many, many weeks at committee when Liberal MPs embarrassed themselves and demeaned themselves in their theatrical filibuster to try to prevent senior officials in the Liberal Party from testifying.
However, we are talking about an escalator tax, an automatic tax increase, on beer, wine and spirits. I did hear the hon. member say it is a few pennies, but we can add it all up and add up the increase on the carbon tax and add up the increased mortgage payments that people have to make as interest rates go up. If the Liberals say that it is not a big deal and it is just a few cents a bottle, the obvious question is, well, then why raise it?
When the Liberals talk about the cost of living and when they talk about all the costs that are falling onto Canadians, why do they believe that Canadians should pay even more, when they come home from work, to enjoy a cold beer after an honest day's work or to bring friends over to celebrate a birthday? Why do they believe that Canadians should pay more for that while the Prime Minister jets around on vacation, billing taxpayers for flights all over the country, sometimes thousands of dollars to avoid driving just an hour? Why do the Liberals believe that Canadians should pay more while they bill taxpayers so much?