Madam Speaker, I am pleased to participate in this debate. I was anticipating such an opportunity but I did not know it would come so quickly. I want to share my time with the hon. member for Gatineau-La Lièvre.
We have been hearing today that the members of the Bloc Quebecois want to denounce the government for all sorts of reasons that they have been telling us about. At the same time, in their speeches, the members of the Bloc Quebecois and also those of the Reform Party, the members of the opposition, have pulled out all the stops in a vain attempt to show that the government did not, in their view, act properly with respect to family trusts.
Nothing could be further from the truth. First, the member for Gander-Grand Falls gave a very good overview of the issue just now in his most excellent speech. Furthermore, it must be recalled that the question is not about family trusts, but about exporting assets when a Canadian decides to move out of the country. This is where the problem arises.
It is the same problem, albeit with different amounts, whether we are talking about a Canadian who suddenly decides to move from Montreal to Boston, a so-called ordinary Canadian, or a wealthy individual who leaves a large Canadian city with all his assets, his millions and so on.
It is also important to remember that the controversy that has apparently shocked the member across the way, a former organizer for the Conservative Party, if memory serves-