Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister, for coming today. We really appreciate it.
My questions are just from what I see in the constituency. I just want to get your comments and your officials' comments on the use of common sense on settling some of these cases. I have three or four cases in which interest on penalties have added up because of a lack of communication between a constituent and their accountant or a constituent and their lawyer, and there has been interest on penalties that have been added to their accounts.
The constituents are ready, willing, and able to pay the taxes that are owing from previous years, but are looking for interest and penalty relief, and there is a very complicated process for very little sums of money. There's re-emphasis on going after tax evasion on a multi-million-dollar scale, but there are small businesses in the riding, and it took me three weeks to get the assessment from the ministry. They finally said, “This is the process on how to apply for interest and penalty relief, and that process could take up to a year.” It's very tough for small businesses that are employing people, and I really urge you to focus on trying to make that more efficient.