I appreciate that your fearless leader appears to be not overly fussed about the multiple billions of dollars that were doled out yesterday. So Mr. McTeague's proposal at one level is quite modest.
Having said that, it is a very attractive proposal for those who can afford it. It is a deductible scheme, it is also a deductible scheme with a grant, and then it's a deductible scheme with a grant and an income split. So all of those things add up to a very attractive package for those who can afford the package.
Mr. St-Cyr proposes to limit the deductibility to $4,000 and $5,000. But my question is to Mr. Gingras, with regard to the BQ-1 amendment's proposed paragraph 2(1)(e), which says:
for 2007 and subsequent years, the total of the RESP annual limit for the preceding taxation year and the product obtained when the RESP annual limit is multiplied by the average percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for the year
I'm not clear about what that means. Are we basically taking the $5,000 amount for 2006 and then adding a consumer price index multiple that will determine the amount you can deduct?
If that's correct, then my second question would be, is there any limit to the additional contributions, assuming you didn't want to take advantage of the deduction? In other words, for argument's sake, if you contribute $7,000 in 2010 but you really want to contribute $10,000, can you then deduct $7,000 and still contribute the other $3,000? That's my question.