Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for your very good presentations.
I am concerned about what will happen to this bill, given the current minority government environment. Mr. Maguire, a Conservative MP, originally introduced this bill in the last parliamentary session. Prior to the last general election, Mr. Guy Caron, an NDP MP, introduced a similar bill, as did my Bloc colleague M. Barsalou-Duval. A little before them, the Liberal MP M. Emmanuel Dubourg had done the same. Personally, I can't believe that the measures proposed in all these bills are not already in effect; they should have been implemented long ago. I now expect the bill to pass, but there seems to be a reluctance on the part of the Liberal Party, which forms the government.
As we know, the budget is scheduled for April, but there are rumours of a general election being held in the spring. If the government does not intend to implement this bill, it is possible that all of the committee's work will abort. So it would all start over, but it is unclear when.
Ms. Bissonnette, Mr. Groleau, or Mr. St-Roch, what are your arguments to convince the government, that is to say, the Liberal Party, to pass and implement this bill before the next election? Mr. Fraser has clearly indicated the kind of concern that his party has: it is afraid that the bill will be used by people for financial arrangements with the aim of lining their pockets.
If you are in agreement, I would like to hear Ms. Bissonnette's comments first and then Mr. Groleau's.