We started the argument at the last meeting regarding the importance of this motion.
This motion is important. Three meetings were scheduled, two of which have already taken place. At the first, we heard from a KPMG representative. At the second, today's, we heard from CRA and Department of Justice officials. At the third, scheduled for May 19, we will hear from the minister. In light of the two meetings we have had so far, however, it is clearly going to be extremely difficult to get to the bottom of this affair, especially as regards how exactly the scheme worked.
We need to be able to represent all taxpayers, to stand up for tax fairness under the system, and to make sure we can get to the bottom of this whole thing. In order to do that, we believe it's necessary to have the names of the people involved in creating this scheme and of those who benefited from it. That will give us crucial insight into their interpretation of the act and regulations. It will also tell us what the KPMG representatives said to those clients.
When we last talked about the motion, we were discussing the possibility of replacing the word “compel” with the word “request” in English, and the word “contraigne” with the word “demande” in French. As we see it, it's extremely important that we use the committee's authority to request these documents. If we use the word “request”, KPMG could refuse to co-operate because it is under absolutely no obligation to do so, and we would be no farther ahead than we are now. If KPMG refuses to hand over the documentation, without any discussion, we'll face an uphill battle trying to get to the bottom of things.
Our motion, then, stands. Our motion is a strong one that aims at ensuring that this issue will not slide, will not go down to oblivion, but will continue to do what we have to do as a committee, which is to ensure that it is well understood that this will not be repeated and that we will hold the people who are responsible, if that is the case, to account.