Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have not done any thorough assessment of the total cost of the fuel increases to the general public, nor have we even finished it for our departments. We do know that the fuel prices have risen dramatically in the last while. Internally in the government, I expect any department's that need additional money in order to carry on their responsibilities, whether it be to deliver fuel, something like transportation, where they will use a lot of fuel, that they will do that assessment department by department. They will bring that forward in time for the main estimates.
In terms of the cost to the public, the fuel prices have increased as a result of increases in world crude prices. We do not know for sure how much more the price will continue to rise, or whether it will level off, or possibly drop down. Our tax on fuel is one of the lower ones across Canada. There are eight jurisdictions that have higher taxes per litre than we do. I do not think our taxes are causing a great burden like this.
When we start doing things to try and alleviate the pain that people are feeling as a result of a fuel price, we have to be very careful we are fair to all people. Some people who use it in their livelihood, other people who use it for pleasure, and other people who simply maybe have a problem because of heating prices. It is a very complex question. We are monitoring it very closely. I think if there is something we can do, I expect the department will be giving us advice on that. Thank you.