Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair.
This is ridiculous. We had a push from the government to ram this through on Tuesday without any of the impacts being known to committee. We've been charged by Parliament to do our due diligence, and now we have Mr. Pallister bringing forward a motion to ram through clause-by-clause consideration.
At no point in the legislative process had the figures that are just being revealed today been brought forward. Would Canadians consider us as doing our due diligence if we simply said that half a billion dollars is being given away, effectively through a tax treaty, without due consideration, without having at least some witnesses come before the committee, and without having the impact studies that have been drafted by the Department of Finance?
I'm sorry that the government has brought this forward in what I think is a very clumsy manner—bringing it forward just a week before we take our Christmas recess. But the government's mistake and the government's clumsiness are not an excuse for our not performing our due diligence. I think it's fair to say that having a session with witnesses to actually go into the implications of what is before us now is the least we can do on behalf of the taxpayers of Canada. We have a responsibility as a committee, and we're clearly not exercising that responsibility if we adopt Mr. Pallister's motion.