Mr. Speaker, I will be totally frank: I am no expert on what thresholds of corporate profit should be deemed reasonable. I would leave that up to experts to determine. I would like some public input on that. I think everybody would agree that companies ought to be able to earn a profit.
I grew up in non-profit housing, so nobody made any money when my mom paid the rent. I would like to see that same system applied more broadly across our economy, because with essentials, whether it is shelter, medicine or food, there should be a way to pay a farmer directly for their work and not be facilitating the enormous profits of billionaire grocery execs. However, that is tough to find. There are stores called co-ops out there, a chain of stores, which I am not sure who owns, but I do not think they are actually co-operatives and non-profits. I would love to see more non-profit-style shopping in the grocery space.
While I am on this topic, I also know that a lot of seniors, particularly single seniors, shop for previously prepared items. They might get spaghetti and meatballs or a soup, which is not in a can and might be in a jar or a takeaway container, and HST is applied to that food. That is something that is not in our control, but I would consider looking at taking off the HST on prepared food at grocery stores. This would not be at a convenience store or for a sandwich at Subway or something like that. I am not suggesting there should not be HST on that food, but finding ways to meet Canadians where they are and lower their food costs would be a priority for me. Any good idea that somebody comes forward with is worthy of consideration and debate.