Mr. Speaker, I am surprised to hear the hon. member say that, two and a half years into this government's mandate, this is a start as far as taxation is concerned. Frankly, this a very late start.
The Bloc Quebecois, the other parties, the people of Quebec and Canada have all been asking for taxation reform for a quite some time already. We would have expected the thinking process to be over by now and a real tax reform to be included in this budget, following consultations with parliamentarians, but that has not been done. That is why setting up a technical committee at this stage sounds like not much compared to the real effort that could have been expected.
As for having the committee work done in here, there is no doubt that suggestions can be made in committee but, in terms of efficiency, would it not be better to have a joint committee, where parliamentarians and experts can share and exchange ideas immediately, so that it can lead somewhere?
Instead, a few months will go by before this committee makes any recommendations; in the meantime, conflicting proposals will be made by the parliamentary committee. All this work will have been done for nothing by both committees. I think that a more serious approach that could be taken by the government would be to accept the opposition's proposal and say: "Fine, a joint committee it will be, a great deal of thought will be given to the issue and we will make sure that what comes out of this reflection is promptly brought up for discussion and included in next year's budget choices made by the government." Thus, we would be certain to act on this tax reform request that has been on the table for the longest time, a request made by the people and which reflects very unfairly on the federal government.
Everywhere, the public keeps hearing: "Is everyone really doing his share at present?" A technical committee like this one will not make it possible for the public to determine if indeed everyone is made to do his share, whether everybody helps promote job creation. At present, do companies take into account, when making decisions, the impact their decisions will have on employment? Creating this kind of committee does not resolve any of these things, and I hope that the government will take note of this fact.