If more can be done, how can you be opposed?
Furthermore, there's a flaw in what you've just said. I respectfully submit that to you. You say that these are all salaries of more than $100,000, whereas we want to know the top five salaries.
For example, if I gave a university money, I wouldn't tell it that it had no right to pay anyone more than $250,000. The bill's sponsor, Ms. Guarnieri, has already withdrawn that. We are all in agreement on that. Furthermore, if the university in question pays its top five employees $800,000, $700,000 and $500,000 three times, and if I find that excessive, I can give my money to another university that's more reasonable. That's part of the information to which the person who is preparing to donate his money is entitled.
As Mr. Szabo said so well earlier, ultimately, we're talking here about public assets, about public money. In my view, when it comes to giving information, where it concerns public spending, a tax credit is a public expenditure. I really have no problem with requiring that. I appreciate the fact Ms. Boyles told me that it was a bit theoretical in the case of the Association of Community Colleges of Canada.
I will conclude with a final question for you, Mr. Davidson.
Since you're telling me you have people in the universities who can occasionally work elsewhere, could you—you or the others—cite a single actual case for me, anywhere in the world, where the fact that someone's salary is known has constituted
“a substantive risk”, “safety and security”, “to protect from harm”, “risk to those employees”?
I just read four different quotations from four of you. You have clearly prepared your presentations in order to tell us the same thing. Let's be honest. This is clearly an exaggeration unless you can show me actual cases where that has been a problem. I don't believe it for a second. A person who works in a high-risk country will take measures. They will assume you have money. It's not a matter of publishing the list or not.
You're looking for ways to oppose this, and that's frankly not to your credit.