Mr. Speaker, I wish to take but a few moments to debate this important piece of legislation. The legislation is before the House today after wide consultation with Canadians, which led to the excellent proposal of the Minister of Finance to proceed with the tax convention between Canada and the United States of America.
Let us remember what we are doing. We are presenting a bill to the House today to provide tax relief. It has the approval of the vast majority of members of the House in most of the political parties represented here.
Let me say it again because it is a word that seems to enthral a number of members across the way. It will provide tax relief to lower income Canadians who worked in the United States and retired in Canada. Those lower income Canadians were taxed at source in the United States and could not get their money.
We are in favour, as is the majority of members of the House, of proceeding with the legislation.
The measure now before the House is that we continue to debate this issue. Only four parties out of five are in favour of it. I know that, as do most Canadians. But the Reform Party knows better.
Coming back to the point, we are so in favour of this legislation as are most members that most parties in the House have agreed to stay to debate it tonight in order to have it pass second reading. Most parties in the House were even in favour of debating this issue at all stages, including report stage, in order to have passage quickly to provide tax relief to Canadians as soon as possible. But we know who is against providing tax relief to lower and middle income Canadians. The Reform Party is filibustering a bill for tax relief. It is unbelievable. Shame on the Reform Party.
The situation which we have before us is one in which we could say without fear of contradiction that duplicity, thy name is Reform.
Mr. Speaker, I know that you, being the very independent, objective, neutral person that you are, will agree with me that the actions of the Reform Party are totally unreasonable today. All right-minded Canadians and most MPs in this House want this bill to pass. Most MPs are willing to sit longer so that the bill can pass and provide the necessary assistance.
So this is what is before us today. This bill provides what most Canadians want. What voters in the Cornwall region, so well represented by the chief government whip, or the region right beside Cornwall that it is my honor to represent, or the region of Vancouver, the south shore of Montreal or elsewhere, want. At this time, whoever has worked in the United States and paid into an American pension plan has their money taxed at source and retained by the American internal revenue service.
The Reform Party is opposed to a measure that would put an end to a plan that withholds money for American taxes. The Reform Party therefore supports the fact that the American government keeps money from Canadians. I would like the Reform Party to explain that to Canadian taxpayers.