Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all our witnesses for being here today.
I'd like to direct my questions to Ms. Hawara, if I may. I want to ask you about something that many of my constituents have raised with me, and it was raised earlier in this meeting, which is the issue of and decision around bare trusts.
My understanding is that certain taxpayers were informed that they would have to prepare certain filings for this tax season by a deadline, but very shortly before that deadline, they were informed by the CRA that they no longer had to do that.
The feedback I've received from folks has been critical. There are two issues here. There's a cost to compliance. A lot of them had to hire accountants and other folks to prepare the materials the CRA initially requested. I think the fact that the CRA said at the last moment that it was no longer required suggested that the initial decision to require it wasn't well thought out.
Again, I'm asking this question for the sake of my constituents in Etobicoke Centre, who have asked me this question. I'd like to provide them the best answer possible.
Why did this happen, and how we ensure that this sort of thing, when it comes to bare trusts or any other form of tax compliance by Canadians, doesn't happen again?