Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I will be very succinct this morning. You have the motion in front of you. It is as follows:
That the Committee invite the Minister of National Revenue, and the appropriate officials, to appear before the Committee before Friday, December 6th, 2013, to discuss allegations of corruption at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) offices in Montreal, which appear to require immediate attention and serious action, and that the Minister be given up to ten (10) minutes for her opening statement; and that the meeting be televised.
As I think most Canadians will now know, the suspicions of corruption at the CRA offices in Montreal date back to 2005. In 2008 the RCMP undertook an investigation at the Montreal office. This criminal investigation was expanded in 2011 to include all CRA operations in the province of Quebec in 2011. As a consequence of this investigation, nine employees thus far have been dismissed, six of whom have been charged with such crimes as tax fraud, breach of trust, and extortion.
The newest revelation, that a CRA cheque for nearly $400,000 was delivered to a notorious Mafia leader, Mr. Nicolo Rizzuto, who at the time owed $1.5 million to the CRA, obviously gives rise to very serious concerns of ongoing mismanagement and possible corruption at the CRA.
It seems to me beyond doubt that if the allegations are proven, the integrity of our tax system is threatened, and many Canadians will have their confidence in our tax system shaken as a consequence.
Thus, Mr. Chair, it seems a very logical step to simply invite the minister to come to this committee and explain what's going on from her perspective. We would welcome a motion passed to that effect.