Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I do want to thank all the witnesses for being present today on this important discussion. I know how important this is to many regular Canadians who will, unfortunately, be forced, in some cases, with having some of the dollars clawed back that, in many instances, I believe, they were encouraged to.... You know, you heard it from Ms. Shanahan and from other MPs during that time.
I believe that's a critical fact that's only speaking to the matter of fairness on behalf of Canadians. We understand the circumstances in which they were incentivized to actually apply for the program, in what was one of our country's most dire situations. I have a great amount respect for the families who had to make that decision. However, I understand the need, of course, to do the work of making sure that we regulate and take the appropriate measures to ensure that some of that money is recouped, particularly in fraudulent situations.
Of course, that work wasn't done by a wave of a magic wand. It was done by regular, everyday folks, regular Canadians working for the CRA.
I have a really tough time, especially when the commissioner mentions that there are unlimited resources at the CRA, that everything is great and that you can do all the things, even though Canadian taxpayers know that tax avoidance is high in Canada and has become an issue. Then there is the fact that the CRA had to administer an unprecedented program like this, given the CERB capacity. I have capacity concerns.
My question is this: Given the unprecedented strain of administering and delivering the pandemic relief programs, did it have a negative effect on the CRA's efforts to address the long-standing corporate tax gaps? That's for the commissioner.