Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I guess I cannot argue with Mr. Todd's, and other's concerns, that this may be passed onto the consumer, but I, for one, certainly could not guarantee that it will not be. Mr. Chairman, the last increase was 1976. That is 17 years that have gone by, and there has not been an adjustment to this rate at all. This merely puts us in line with other provinces, as a matter of fact, other than Ontario, we are the lowest in the fire tax area, and it is not out of line at all to view this is as a normal process. Insurance rates have gone up even without this over the years, and there have been substantial increases, and it is not attributed, certainly, to an amendment such as we are making.
Again, I support it, and I would encourage other Members to support this as well, although I cannot guarantee that there is going to be an increase. as Mr. Patterson said, the rate increases or decreases are factored on a fairly complex formula, and certainly one of which is the loss that insurance companies have to pay out to premiums.
If you are accident prone, or have more losses, then that is when the increases will come to the consumer. On a global scale it is not an unusually high amount, and it certainly is not one that we should be afraid to introduce.