Thank you.
My question is for Mr. Macdonald.
This past summer there was a report that the government recorded a surplus of $6.33 billion in the first four months 2022-23. This was reported in Reuters. I have the article right here. It claims that the surplus was directly correlated to higher tax revenues.
I also have a report from Canadians for Tax Fairness, which indicates that the government lost $30 billion in revenue in 2021 and that corporate tax avoidance doubled. The $30 billion is a huge number, especially since we know that people across Canada are struggling right now. I know 30 billion things I could have spent it on in the riding of Winnipeg Centre, which competes for the third-poorest riding in the country at any given moment.
I'm hoping you can help me bridge the gap between these reports—for people listening at home—and explain why. It is absolutely offensive to hear the Minister of Finance signalling that things are about to get harder for people. All the while, the government is leaving billions of dollars on the table in tax loopholes for corporations, something that we're calling greedflation.