Mr. Speaker, when they talk about reason, when they say that the government behaved reasonably, I must say it is certainly not the case in this instance. Since the very beginning, it is remarkable how many steps, how many measures the government has taken to cover up, to conceal the situation.
Even in the public accounts committee, of which my colleague is a member, they used every trick in the book; motions were submitted, even a motion saying that light would be shed on this issue in the fall was defeated by the Liberals. It takes some nerve to do that. Every time my colleague, the member for Beauport-Montmorency-Orléans and Chairman of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, tried to raise the issue, he was turned down. They used the finance committee's analysis as an excuse to say: "Finance is working on it. Once they have done their job, we will see".
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts has the authority to act almost as a royal commission of inquiry. Until now, I have not sensed a willingness, on the part of the Liberals, to get to the bottom of this issue. On the contrary; the finance committee report, a Liberal majority report, and even the statements made over the last two weeks by the Prime Minister and the finance minister, show clearly that they want to cover up, and not shed light on the issue.
Not only will they not shed any light, but they announced, in the Liberal majority report which has now been recognized as the government's position on the issue, that what was done in 1991, that misinterpretation of the tax legislation, will now become the general rule. From now on, this is how Revenue Canada will officially interpret the tax provisions.
I want to ask Canadians to consider the so-called reasonable attitude of the government. It is not a reasonable but a outrageous attitude. These people practice patronage. I hope that Canadians will see it some day. I hope that those Canadians that are now Liberal supporters will raise the question in their ridings and ask their members of Parliament for an explanation.
Sometimes I look at Liberal members and I wonder if they read the reports of the committees and of their government. Sometimes I hear things and wonder if I have not landed on another planet. I feel they know nothing about the government's positions and their implications. They just go along with everything.
They go along, they applaud, they smile and say: "My my, we are good". They are in fact shooting themselves in the foot.
They are here to represent their constituents but instead, they applaud the government's positions when in fact that government is only protecting a handful of rich friends of the party. That is not normal. I hope they will wake up eventually because this is no way to behave in politics. It is certainly not our way. And it is most unfortunate.