Mr. Speaker, we have heard a wide range of thought processes here. I thank those people who entered into the debate. It is very useful. We should be doing more of that in this country.
This is something that affects almost everyone in the nation. We have over 13 million taxpayers. In some ways it is something that unites us, although it seems like a strange thing to say. A lot of people tonight are struggling with the concept of filing their tax returns. It is something that unites us in the sense that tax filing is consistent across the country.
We talked about all the reasons why we cannot have a taxpayers ombudsman. There are all kinds of reasons. I can show the House this very interesting book. It basically studies taxation and tax administration back through the time of Egypt and up to modern times. Every administration said the same thing, we cannot do this, we cannot tame the hand of Caesar.
The bottom line is that we can do that. It is very important that we do it if we want to command respect for Revenue Canada and for our tax collection agencies. This is a process that people feel comfortable with.
Today that process does not exist. With the great pronouncements of all the things we could have done to make the system better, why have we not done them? As I suggested, there is a tax case where the Supreme Court of Canada had to actually tell two parties to sit down and talk to each other. There is something wrong with the system.
Most people in Revenue Canada carry out their job with diligence and with respect. I have met many of these people throughout my career. I found them generally hard working, concerned about their job and concerned about presenting the department's attitudes fairly and honestly in the community. There are those odd people in the system. We are all human beings and we make mistakes. When one makes a mistake at that level people draw back and say it did not happen.
For those people who are filing their tax returns tonight, we need a process where they feel more comfortable with the system.