Thank you very much, Peter, and thank you for saying the things.... After 45 years, it is a long shift. I'm in an elected position, and I'm going to serve out my term and, as you say, move on. It's always been an honour to work with Mr. Easter and the so many people I've gotten to see. I'm not going to disappear, but I appreciate your comments.
I look at this screen. I've looked at many screens before. I've had the opportunity in my lifetime to travel the world, and I always say that Canada is the greatest country that you can possibly come from and live in, and I truly mean that. The fact is that, when we look at the government and politicians such as you, we rely on you.
It was a big step for the Government of Canada when this worldwide pandemic took hold. It took a bit of prodding, but we got the government, in regard to the CERB and all those other sorts of things, to basically lift, making sure that people had some income support to look after their loved ones and do what they did, and I think they did a good job of that.
The fact is that we look at you as the shepherds of our tax dollars to make sure that there's fairness imposed in them, and what we've seen, in particular, now with the cut.... The COVID crisis is far from over, in my perspective. You have the vaccine issue that's all out there, so there are many things there. The other thing is that some people who have taken dividends have not lived up to the spirit and intent, and I think what that does is it destroys the credibility of folks who are out there, politicians who, each and every single day, say, “We want a fair society. We want to make sure that our people and our children are looked after.”
I think that, when you have the wealthy.... You've just scratched the surface in regard to where you're going to go after the folks with the big yachts and some of these massive, expensive cars. That's not gone far enough. They need to pay their fair share, so I think that the government needs to focus on making sure that the CERB, the clawback.... Why from July 4? You're sending a terrible message for the folks from the beginning. They're given dividends, they've laid off workers and they've not followed the procedures. I say, as I said in my testimony, that we need to focus on those things. There are many great things in this budget that we need to move forward. We have many challenges ahead, but what people look at is fairness. It's fairness to make sure...and I give credit. I've given credit to this government before when they announced moving the CERB to the $500. If you look at the statistics, a lot of people support that.
Much needs to be done to make sure that we go after those cheaters who have not lived up to the rules. The fact is this: Make the rich pay. My God, all of us, each and every one of us on this screen, we pay our fair taxes. Why shouldn't the ultra-rich be in that same position? They all have to contribute. That's what makes this country so great.