I can take you to the exact problem in the legislation.
If you have subclause 118(1) of the BIA available—that's proposed section 188.2—there's a definition of “mining activity”. Paragraph (c) says a mining activity includes “allowing computing resources to be used for the purpose of” crypto-asset mining. Think about that. I could be AWS. I'd have computers and computing servers, but their use by my customer—in this case, my customer outside Canada.... It's determining that I'm now being deemed to be engaged in their activity.
Then it has this provision: The definition of “mining group” means “a group of persons that...share mining payments”. Sharing is not something used anywhere in the legislation. If a landlord signs a triple-net lease and says, “I'll rent you this store, but one element is that you're going to pay me 2% of your revenue,” does that constitute sharing in the revenues of the store?
The officials from the Department of Finance suggested there is an exemption for this sector, but what I'm hearing from the Bankers Association about certainty.... We're looking for certainty. What we're asking for is a very simple amendment, added after, that says that with respect to a mining activity, if a Canadian is performing it for a non-resident mining pool, we're excluded from the legislation. It's as simple as that.
Thank you.