Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I thank all my colleagues who welcomed me. I hope they will still be happy to see me today, after I’ve finished asking my questions.
Just so the witnesses understand why I’m here today, I want to say that I represent a very rural and very touristic riding: the riding of Mégantic—L’Érable, in the Appalachian region. We have mountains. We have lakes. Around those lakes, there are many cottages. Around Mégantic Lake, there are also many holiday resorts. You should come see it. It’s quite incredible. It’s absolutely beautiful. I invite all of you to come and see just how beautiful our region is.
We’re also next door to Beauce. Thetford Mines is a city that used to be a mining town; it now holds a large number of SMEs. If we are still living in the region, it’s thanks to those SMEs. It’s the first time a government measure generated so many reactions in my constituency office. I just explained why.
I will address the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec. My question is for Mr. Noël.
I saw that all of the chambers of commerce throughout these regions, such as Saguenay, commented on the government’s decision and the vote to pass the ways and means motion increasing taxes on capital gains.
Can you explain to me in a few words why there were so many strong reactions to this tax measure imposed by the Liberals on the local economy?