Paul Martin

[Fuel Taxes, September 20th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is certainly right when he talks from the leadership that has come from his caucus, the member from Pickering and the others.

The government will act. One of the reasons we will act is that we have been studying this issue. There has been leadership from this caucus while that opposition sat silent.

[Fuel Taxes, September 20th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the government has made it very clear that the impact of any tax cut must be one that is significant and felt. That view is also shared by provincial governments.

That is why we have said that if we were to act in that area we would only do so in conjunction with the provinces. We are prepared to show the leadership. No single level of government can provide a large enough cut to make an impact. We do not want to see this money lost at the pumps. We want to see it go into the pockets of consumers, not into the pockets of oil companies.

[Fuel Taxes, September 20th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, after imposing the tax, then at a time of rising fuel taxes in Alberta, and public discussion on whether or not the excise tax should be cut when it was at 9%, the minister said he would consider it. In his budget, he specifically rejected it. The question is, why is he recommending in opposition a course of action that he refused to accept when he was in office?

[Taxation, September 19th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, in co-operation with the Minister of the Environment of course we have been examining a number of options. The fact is that the Minister of the Environment has been very clear on the importance of low sulphur gas in this country. We will continue to follow those options and take a decision.

[Budget Surpluses, September 19th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, we have surpluses because we are enjoying an incredible economic growth, because we have a great job creation program and because things are going really well in Canada.

I can certainly understand why the opposition member may not be pleased, but Canadians are.

[Budget Surpluses, September 19th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member must know that I will deliver my economic statement tomorrow. I will then provide the figures.

I can assure the hon. member that, indeed, the surpluses will be greater than anticipated. Canada is doing really well.

[Fuel Costs, September 18th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, surely the hon. member knows of the presence of the GST tax credit. Surely the hon. member knows that in our last budget we indexed all the benefits and that these accrue directly to senior citizens.

At the same time, surely the hon. member knows that the last time her leader was in government he raised the excise tax six times. It was also his government that introduced the tax on diesel fuel.

[Fuel Costs, September 18th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that higher oil prices are causing great pain and that governments at both levels, federal and provincial, have to deal with it. However, let us understand where the problem lies.

The problem lies not in the gas prices themselves, which have not gone up, but in the fact of these very high oil prices. That is what we as a government and other governments around the world have to deal with. It makes no sense to have a small cut, which would occur if only one level of government acted alone, because it would simply disappear into the pumps or into the profits of the oil companies. It would not benefit those people—

[Gasoline Taxes, September 18th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, one must wonder about the crocodile tears being raised by the hon. member for Calgary Southeast. The fact is that his party has brought forth a flat tax that would provide somebody earning $1 million a year with a $130,000 tax cut compared with $1,400 for somebody making $40,000.

[Gasoline Taxes, September 18th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the first thing I would like to do is congratulate the member for Calgary Southeast on his appointment as finance critic. I would also like to congratulate the former finance critic, the member for Medicine Hat, on his promotion.

Let me simply say that the issue of GST on gasoline taxes, an issue that the hon. member from Pickering has been raising for quite some time, is obviously something that the government will look at. For the hon. member to raise the whole issue of the GST, given what happened two or three weeks ago and the confusion that seemed to reign in Jurassic Park—