Canada Pension Plan  I am talking about his government's taxes, not those of the provincial governments. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has already affirmed now and stated that this increase in CPP premiums will cost a firm that employs 10 people about $7,000 a year. This will cost jobs for students, two to three summer jobs.

Newfoundland Unemployment  It has been done on the backs of those people who are not getting work because of the high employment insurance tax. Once again the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has called for a 25% cut in the EI premiums because it would create more jobs. Even Department of Finance studies indicate that high payroll taxes cut and restrict the number of jobs.

Newfoundland Unemployment  The Tory or Liberal solution, there is none. We can also look at what the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has said about the region. Peter O'Brien, the Atlantic Canada director, along with the premier of New Brunswick, Frank McKenna—

Supply  More than one official in his department has demonstrated clearly that payroll taxes cut jobs. He has ample evidence all around him to show that is the case. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business surveyed over 19,000 small businesses. It found that over half, or 50.8% to be specific, would hire more individuals if payroll taxes were reduced. That is only one kind of tax, payroll tax.

Supply  They should be pleading with him on behalf of their constituents. They should be asking for a payroll tax cut. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has talked about a 25% tax cut in the EI premiums because it creates jobs. To quote their own finance department studies, when they increased EI premiums from a little over 3% to close to 5% it resulted in killing 26,000 jobs.

Auditor General's Report  Speaker, surely the prime minister knows that he is alone in this position. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, le Conseil du patronat du Québec all share the view that these premiums must come down. Let me ask the question to the Minister of Finance. Since the prime minister will not move, will the Minister of Finance accept the recommendations of the auditor general and table here in the House of Commons the analysis on which he bases the premium rate?

Supply  There are the results of a questionnaire that was sent out to all members of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business a couple of months ago asking whether there should be a renewed federal-provincial infrastructure program. Of those who replied Canada wide 49 percent said no. These are business people answering these questions about the way tax dollars should be spent.

Supply  The Minister of Finance may not want to listen to me or my colleagues, but maybe he will listen to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and other organizations which agree that reducing employment insurance premiums by 60 cents for example would create 170,000 new jobs. Those are the kinds of measures Canadians need, not just empty words and promises.

Employment  The government could take concrete action immediately by reducing employment insurance premiums. This is what the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, as well as Quebec's Chamber of Commerce and Conseil du patronat, are asking for. What is this government waiting for to end this abuse and put people back to work?

Excise Tax Act  Not that it was better for business or for anybody, because at the end of the day everybody in the Atlantic provinces who made representation to the Senate committee complained. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the Retail Council of Canada complained that the Liberals were not listening. However, the finance minister said that consumers wanted this and the government was going to give it to them.

Supply  I would ask my colleague to think about the 45 per cent of Canadian businesses, as reported by the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, that say payroll taxes are a major disincentive to hiring. Unemployment, particularly among young people, in Quebec is a disaster. What affect will this payroll tax increase have on employment in Quebec?

Canada Pension Plan  Speaker, first I would caution the Minister of Finance not to speak too loudly of Reform ideas because it usually takes about a year for a Reform idea to end up being Liberal policy, as we all know. Catherine Swift, the president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, wrote a letter to the Canada pension plan review committee. In it she wrote: "Increases in CPP premiums to as high as 10 per cent would be massively disruptive to small business finances and employment levels".

The Budget  They identified payroll taxes and listed what they were and the list included CPP and QPP contributions. Last night Judith Andrew of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business was discussing the minister's budget. She referred to the hike in the CPP premiums as a payroll tax. If there is any group in the country that would know a payroll tax when they see it, it would be the CFIB because of course these are the people who are actually paying it.

The Budget  It has computer models for running that payroll tax and determining its negative impact on job creation when it is increased. Last night, Judith Andrew of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business discussed the CPP premium increase as a payroll tax. If there is any group in the country that can recognize a payroll tax when it sees it, it is the CFIB. The only people that do not believe a 70 per cent hike in CPP premiums is not a payroll tax increase is the Minister of Finance and the gullible gang across the way.

Excise Tax Act  There were complaints from the Atlantic region and all these people who supported them. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the retailers association, they all turned on them and turned against them because they did not want this tax included pricing the way the Liberals wanted it. It hurts the most now.