Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, too, must express concern about this amendment. When you talk about bringing in five cartons of cigarettes, it is more a tax avoidance than it is making it possible for somebody who is well, travelling and incidentally happens to pick up some cigarettes. I don't think that we should be passing laws which encourage tax avoidance. The bottom line is, as I said earlier in my general comments to this bill, that the Canadian health costs for smoking average out to about $1,500 per smoker. There is no way that, even with this tax, we will, from a heavy smoker, collect $1,500 in an average year. I can't see how you can justify not collecting the taxes from the people who are causing such a burden on the health care system.

I think that we don't want to make it any easier for people to smoke and make it cheaper, so I have a problem with looking for loopholes or setting them up in our lives. Like Mr. Arvaluk, Mr. Morin and Mr. Patterson, I will have to oppose this amendment because I think that the spirit and intent of the bill as proposed more accurately meets the situation as I think it should be. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.