Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the hon. member for Broadview-Greenwood and I must say that I was quite surprised because he made a very sensible and thoughtful speech. The problem is that he stated exactly what we have been saying to the finance minister and the government for the past 15 months. As we said before, we need to review the whole Canadian tax system, because it is full of holes and is preventing us from reaching our goals and ensuring social equity throughout Canada, in the East as well as in the West, and a fair balance between what individual taxpayers and private corporations pay.
So, I want to ask my colleague from Broadview-Greenwood why the members of his own government do not understand his message, which I find quite sensible? Why can he not convince his colleague, the Minister of Finance, of the need, indeed the urgency to remedy the obvious deficiencies in the Canadian tax system, which allow high income earners as well as big corporations to benefit from loopholes such as the tax conventions signed with some tax havens?
Why can we not abolish these loopholes? Could it be because his colleague, the Minister of Finance, is both judge and judged? It is a well known fact that he has a fleet of vessels flying the Panamanian flag, a flag of convenience, and may not have the same interests as his colleague from Broadview-Greenwood.