Thank you, Mr. Chair.
As discussed, in its brief, the Canadian Bar raised a unintentional consequence of applying this bill, especially with respect to aboriginals. The brief says:
If an aboriginal person earns exempt income, …
And exempt income is defined as a tax exemption under section 87 of the Indian Act.
…no RRSP contribution room is created with respect to that income. Contributions to a PRPP for that individual will generate penalties under Part X.1 of the Income Tax Act. An aboriginal person earning only exempt income could not participate in a PRPP, but can participate in registered pension plans.
The Canadian Bar Association's recommendation was to amend this section of the Income Tax Act. After discussion, we realized that we could not do it here. However, I want to raise the importance of taking this into consideration when there are regulations. We need to make sure that the intention, which was not to exclude aboriginals from the PRPP, will really be protected in that respect.