Conservatives tie science funding to Liberal tax increases.
Gary Goodyear, the Science and Technology Minister, counterpunched the Liberals on their recent criticisms of research funding cuts. During a debate on the harmonization of the Quebec sales tax with the GST , Goodyear confirmed the Conservative strategy of defelecting criticisms of research funding cuts with promises of Liberal tax increases. Last week, the alleged Liberal plans to increase taxes were used to deflect critism of the funding cuts leveled by Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff. This week, the non sequitor was reversed, as a discussion about taxes suddenly and unexpectedly inspired Goodyear to talk research funding:
Mr. Speaker, before I ask my question I would like to premise it that the motion itself concerns harmonization of various taxes. It does in fact mention the 1990s, and the hon. members opposite did make examples of some things in the 1990s.
In the 1990s, the Liberals cut science and technology by $442 million, which in today’s dollars is about $1 billion of cuts to science and technology. They also raised taxes on Canadians. The Leader of the Opposition has been cited as saying that they definitely will have to raise taxes on Canadians. I suspect that they will in fact cut and gut science and technology once again.
Understand that this is 30 minutes into a multi-party discussion about the merits of provincial-federal tax reorganization and compensation for Quebec. No doubt it caught everyone off guard. Just in case they missed it, though, the Minister again rushed to defend science funding from Liberal cuts, an hour later:
Mr. Speaker, in his great speech, the member went into the taxation issue. I do know that in the mid-1990s the Liberals cut $442 million from science and technology. I have not done the math for 2009 dollars, but in 2007 dollars that alone was almost $1 billion cut from science and technology. At the same time, they also raised taxes on Canadians.Now we are hearing this promise by the Liberals to raise taxes on Canadians. I am concerned that they will also gut science and technology. Hopefully, that will never happen because Canadians will not vote for raising taxes. Would the member be kind enough to share with us some of his thoughts on how raising taxes would affect Canadians and, in particular, Canadians in Quebec?
