Thank you for the question.
I'd like to speak to two points. One is just very briefly the history of the technical bill that included these provisions. The bill was actually introduced in the Parliament that included the year 2006—I've forgotten which number that is—as Bill C-33, and did receive third reading by the House of Commons, but then Parliament prorogued. In the next Parliament it was reintroduced as Bill C-10, that is, both the technical amendments package as well as the foreign investment entity and non-resident trust provisions. That bill proceeded to committee stage in the Senate, but did not pass before the House prorogued for the subsequent election.
The provisions relating to foreign investment entities and non-resident trusts were the subject of commentary by a panel struck by the government. It was an international panel chaired by Mr. Peter Godsoe. Their suggestion was that the proposals be reviewed to ensure they strike the right balance between revenue protection and fairness. Indeed, the government did do that.
In the March 4 budget there was a revised proposal issued by the government, which proposed to take the existing rules relating to foreign investment entities instead of the foreign investment entity rules put forward in Bill C-33 and tighten them somewhat, but essentially cleave more closely to the current rules.
In relation to non-resident trusts, the budget proposes to go forward with those proposals but with a number of material changes, to try to make sure they're targeted as best as possible. There is a specific proposal in the budget, which is to be the subject of consultation.