Madam Speaker, I want to briefly point out four things to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue.
First of all, I would like to know if it is normal, or usual, for the employees of the revenue department to process in such a way the request of an ordinary taxpayer, an ordinary citizen, who wants to get some tax benefits. If a resident of mine, in the riding of Saint-Jean, Île d'Orléans, were to ask for an advance tax ruling,
would an army of civil servants be asked to work on next December 22? Is that normal? Is that acceptable? Is it what the people who are listening to us can usually expect? This is what I want to find out. I would like the parliamentary secretary, who has some contacts in the revenue department, to tell me if it is possible, normal and usual.
Second, I would like to know why the parliamentary secretary thought it appropriate to give us a lecture on ethics and transparency. I almost took out my handkerchief. She nearly made me cry. We are given lectures on transparency. I would like to know why, at the public accounts committee, the parliamentary secretary herself voted against the Bloc Quebecois proposal calling for an independent inquiry into the family trust scandal. Why did she, and not her neighbour, her grandfather or her grandmother, vote against this?
I want to remind Quebecers that it is a good thing the Bloc Quebecois was there to ask for this independent inquiry. Had Quebec been represented by 75 Liberal members, as it used to be in the Trudeau years, instead of 54 Bloc members, there would never have been a request for an impartial, independent inquiry not controlled by the government. Thank goodness the Bloc Quebecois was there. That was my second point.
The third point I want to make is a little more technical. The auditor general tells us that it is unusual for Revenue Canada to issue advance rulings on past transactions. Once again, if it is unusual, why was it done in this case? Why?
Are there two kinds of justice or two sets of rules? If you want to transfer $2 billion in family trusts, either you can do it as a private citizen and Revenue Canada will harass you afterwards or you cannot do it. Why did Revenue Canada make an exception and issue advance rulings on past transactions?
Finally, I would like the parliamentary secretary to comment on the attitude of the Deputy Minister of Finance, David Dodge, who, after that meeting, chewed out the auditor general. It is another form of psychological torture. It is a way of criticizing him for unearthing this, for rocking the boat. What kind of attitude is that coming from one of the highest ranked government officials, Deputy Minister of Finance David Dodge, who literally lashed out at the auditor general in public, in front of private citizens and journalists.
Unfortunately, good manners prevent me from repeating in this House the exact words that were used on that occasion. I would like the parliamentary secretary to tell us if she finds such behaviour normal and acceptable.