Mr. Speaker, first I would like to comment on the opening remarks of the member opposite.
In terms of the things that I identified which should be in the bill and the changes that should be made to Revenue Canada, yes this is true, these are changes that everyone feels should be made. We feel that this bill does not go far enough in establishing the criteria that should be taken into account. We want to see democratic consideration of what the people out there in the world want in this new tax agency. In just a moment I will come back to some specific points on that.
What I would like to mention first is in connection with the percentages of people who vote for one thing or another. I made no judgments whatsoever about whether the Nisga'a vote being 60% to 40% was an appropriate percentage to create a country within a country or to break up a country. I made no judgments about that at all.
The point I made was that 40% of the Nisga'a people voted against what the politically correct government over there thinks is a wonderful treaty. My point was why not ask the 40% who are not being asked why they did not like it. Maybe that 40% had some critical reasons why they did not like it. I can tell the member why they do not. It is because they are afraid that the power and the benefits will flow to a few at the top. If the member does not recognize that scenario from his own party, then he needs more lessons on the topic.
It has absolutely nothing to do with whether 50% plus 1% is appropriate for Quebec separation, or whether 60% is appropriate for the Nisga'a to separate. They certainly are separating if that treaty goes ahead because there will be a new country within a country. There is absolutely no doubt about that.
Since the member opposite does not appear to have read the document that the official opposition put out called “Protecting the Rights of Canadians—The Office for Taxpayer Protection”, I will give him a few points from it.
The office for taxpayer protection under the chief advocate would be responsible for assisting taxpayers in resolving disputes or problems where the mechanism within the agency itself was not being helpful. They could propose changes to administrative practices within the new agency in order to minimize problems that are encountered by taxpayers. Sometimes those close to the action do not always see the best way to proceed.
Mr. Speaker, I see you are cutting me off again. This is really bad news. There is such a lot to discuss here but I will take your ruling and I will sit down.