I can answer that, Mr. Chair.
As noted, there was a consultation on the general anti-avoidance rule that launched on August 9 and ended on September 30. It was a general consultation that was designed to look at all aspects of the GAAR and how it could be strengthened and modernized.
As noted, one of the aspects of the consideration is looking at either how to implement an economic substance test through the GAAR or to better ensure that the GAAR captures transactions that are lacking in economic substance. That is one of the points on which we received a number of submissions.
In total, we received around 13 or so comprehensive submissions on the GAAR consultation. We have been having follow-up discussions with some of those organizations that provided consultations. We received a range from academics, tax lawyers, accountants and civil society groups, so we got a full range of perspectives.
In the course of that consultation, we are looking at all aspects of the GAAR. There were a number of questions in the consultation paper. One of them, as noted, is whether the GAAR would be a more effective tool if it would be appropriate to add penalties to the GAAR as a way of disincentivizing people from engaging in aggressive tax planning or aggressive tax avoidance planning.
We're still considering all the submissions. At this point, we have not made decisions as to what changes we will make. The next step in the process will be to release draft legislation for consultation that will reflect our assessment and the decisions the government makes as a result of the consultation.