Mr. Speaker, I did not have time to say everything I wanted before and this gives me the opportunity to ask a question of my colleague opposite who praised the measures proposed by the government.
He did not say much about the measures proposed by the government in its budget with regard to corporate taxation. For months and years now, the Bloc Quebecois has been asking the government to act to ensure that all profitable businesses pay at least a minimum tax. We are not talking about start-up businesses which are struggling and losing money, but there are thousands of businesses in Canada, some say between 60,000 and 70,000, which have been profitable for years and which are still not paying a cent in taxes because of the existing Canadian legislation.
We learn in the budget that the government is creating a technical committee to review business taxation. It will carry out studies to determine the appropriate level of taxation. Should corporations be paying more taxes or less? Should tax shelters be revisited? Should they be eliminated or should new ones be created? What should become of tax havens, for example?
The government announced the creation of that committee in its budget and said that seven or eight experts would be members of that technical committee. There will be university professors, chartered accountants, scientists and some experts who already manage funds in tax shelters because they have offices in tax havens. These people will be members of the committee and will advise the government on the approach it should use.
The finance minister said, at lunch time today, that it is normal to consult people who know about tax shelters if you want to get some adequate recommendations. If we were to push the comparison a bit, we could say that it is like creating a Hell's Angels committee to help the government change the legislation on organised crime. We have almost gone that far.
I would like to know my colleague's opinion on these measures his government wants to implement.