Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank Ms. Bédard for her poignant remarks. We will certainly look into the matter.
I will have questions for her a bit later. Now, though, I want to welcome the witnesses.
We hope you and your families are staying healthy and safe during the pandemic. Thank you for appearing before the committee.
My first questions will go to you, Dr. Cochrane.
We are dealing with Bill C-14, which is linked to the fall economic statement. As I'm sure you're aware, the fall economic statement forecasts significant cuts in program expenses for this next fiscal year, which begins in a couple of weeks. There is great concern, I think, that the government is looking to reduce supports at a time when a third wave is hitting Canada, tragically, yet in the fall economic statement and in Bill C-14, in the face of a third wave, there is absolutely no reference to measures that would help bolster the resources available to provide supports for Canadians.
I know that Canadians for Tax Fairness has talked about this, about the importance of establishing a fair tax system and putting in place, as other countries have, a wealth tax, responding to the pandemic in the way we did to the Second World War, when we put in place an excess profits tax. Instead, the government seems to be basically giving a blank cheque to companies that are profiteering during this pandemic. Billionaires have increased their wealth by over $60 billion. Canadian banks are reaping record profits, with government liquidity supports at a record.
In that context, how do you feel about the government's refusal to put in place a wealth tax and a pandemic profits tax so that we have the resources and the wherewithal to provide all the supports for people that you spoke of so eloquently during your presentation?