Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to express my happiness about the fact that we are actually going to proceed and look at these amendments.
I find the comments Mr. Brison made fairly disturbing. This seems to reflect—and I'm glad I have five minutes to explain this—the randomness of 3,000 amendments being submitted and the Liberals not wanting to actually look at any of them. It's odd.
All members of this committee, including the NDP and Conservative members, voted to look at these amendments. We take them seriously. It's odd that a member who submits 3,000 amendments would try to force the committee, when he's the only one who's voted not to look at them, to actually not look at them. It's the most bizarre thing I've ever seen.
It reminds me of when we voted on sending this to committees. We wanted fulsome debate. We wanted all interested committees to have an opportunity to look at this and to allow witnesses to come. The Liberals were the only party that voted not to send it to committee. It boggles one's mind.
Nevertheless, I'm going to proceed with the amendments that have been put forward. Out of the 3,000, we're proceeding with the ones under Liberal amendments 2 and 6. These motions would actually delete the amendments related to group sickness or accident insurance plans. This measure addresses a non-neutrality in the taxation of benefits related to the provision of insurance.
With regard to Liberal amendments 3 to 5 and 7 and 8, these motions would delay by one year the implementation of the measure relating to group sickness or accident insurance plans. In commenting on this measure, Mr. Chair, stakeholders did not express concern that the timing of its implementation would pose administrative challenges. So to delay would actually have a fiscal cost.
For those reasons, we will not be supporting the amendments put forward by the Liberals.
But again, I question the sincerity of the Liberals issuing 3,000 amendments that they then vote to not look at. It's the craziest thing I've ever seen. I don't know why they didn't want to study them in subcommittees either. I want to put that on the record.
Thank you.