You see, I know there's a lot of noise out there...and I'm sure some of it's warranted. It's happening in the U.S. too. Once you've done everything you can on the right wing to go after tax cuts, and to get as much as you can when you already have lots, then you go after the revenuers with talk of “unfair”, and try to put a chill in there.
Again, it's not the steelworkers in Hamilton who are raising this. It's the people with the big bucks already who are doing this. And my concern is that the areas that aren't being looked at just happen to be the areas where the most wealthy are. We know what the history of money and politics has been in Canada. Notwithstanding the changes in the last couple of years...but historically, and these are historical issues.
That's what gives me some concern. It's not deliberate, but it met certain unspoken political priorities, that we just won't do a whole lot in that area because we get too much heat when we do; let's go elsewhere.
So this is a concern for me. Every time I hear “tax haven”, I think of all the shipping lines and others who've taken advantage, as Canadians, of these tax havens. Basically, they're just not paying their fair share of the tax rate. I don't know how we would go about that.
One thing I want to talk to you about, Chair, is the possibility...and we've never done this before, so if it's a non-starter, so be it.
Right now when we call up a chapter we bring in the deputy, and they bring in all their folks, and the Auditor General comes in with all her folks, and we spend the whole two hours doing that one chapter. But let's say we have a couple of questions where a full two hours may not be required but you don't want to let something go. I wonder if there's a method or some means whereby, for issues that don't have a requirement for two hours, we could look at bringing in two of them, at an hour each, just to get at a few things. Because something like this....
Again, think of all those hard-working Hamiltonians—Mr. Sweet represents Hamiltonians also—paying their fair share and carrying the freight, and then think of the possibility whereby those who are already dripping in wealth don't have to pay their fair share. If we don't jump in and defend those hard-working Hamiltonians, who will?
I leave that with the committee to think about. Maybe there's a second way you can do that.
If I have any time left, I'd like to go to advertising and public opinion. We haven't done that yet.