Thank you to all the witnesses.
Ms. Alty and Ms. Brown, thank you for the message you delivered this evening. It came through loud and clear. A housing crisis is plaguing the entire country, but especially in the north. The next budget has to include a considerable investment in housing. We got your message loud and clear.
My first questions are for Mr. Patry and Mr. Bélanger.
You talked about tax avoidance. In June, the Parliamentary Budget Officer told us that we were losing $25 billion in tax revenues every year through the network of tax havens. That’s a massive figure, and it’s the people with the most money and the companies with the highest profits that are benefiting.
You recommended that the government introduce public and comprehensive pharmacare. In a few weeks, I’ll be introducing a bill on that very topic on behalf of the NDP.
Can Canada really afford to keep giving huge subsidies to the wealthy through tax havens, instead of investing in people here, at home? We are talking about $25 billion, after all. If the government were to invest in a comprehensive pharmacare program, what impact would it have?