Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by saying what a great pleasure it is for me to speak to Bill C-28.
As I am the Bloc Quebecois transport critic, some of my colleagues might be wondering what lies behind my interest in this bill introduced by the Minister of Finance.
As I was saying, there are aspects of this bill that I, as transport critic, find very important, one of them being a clause to which my colleague, the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, has drawn wide attention during oral question period, in the media scrums and in earlier debates. I am talking about clause 241.
The Minister of Finance is the sponsor of this bill, clause 241 of which improves the tax treatment of offshore shipping companies held by Canadian companies.
For several weeks now, the government has denied that this measure will benefit the Minister of Finance's companies, but senior finance department officials and the government's ethics counsellor have admitted that Canada Steamship Lines could indeed benefit from this measure. Important questions remain unanswered.
The opposition is unanimous, and this is not some Bloc Quebecois fabrication. The four opposition parties on this side of the House have indicated clearly to the chair of the Standing Committee on Finance, in a letter from the four finance critics dated February 12, that they would like to see a special subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance struck as quickly as possible for the purpose of clarifying the situation with respect to the interpretation of clause 241 in Bill C-28. That was clear.
It is our contention, and we are supported in this by the other opposition parties, that the Minister of Finance is trying, through Bill C-28, to get the House to pass a bill that could very well give his shipping company, Canada Steamship Lines Inc., of which he is the sole owner, certain tax advantages.
Even if the Minister of Finance defends himself by saying that his company has been in a blind trust since he became the minister, he will not remain the minister for the rest of his life and could eventually benefit from these tax changes.
The Minister of Finance and representatives of his company contend that Canada Steamship Lines does not intend to use this provision to benefit from the measures in clause 241. While it is not their intention, that does not mean that they are not entitled to, and that is the subtlety we must watch out for.
Let us have a look at the holdings and the assets of the Minister of Finance. We will look at the ships. I had information on certain ships obtained from the Lloyd's Register of Ships. Let us see if we can untangle things a bit.
A look at the Minister of Finance's assets reveals that CSL owns a number of companies registered in Barbados: CSL Cabo Shipping Line Barbados, wholly owned; Innovaforce Shipping Inc., registered in Liberia; CSL Asia Investments Inc., also registered in Liberia. He is up to his elbows in tax havens. Over his head in tax havens.
I decided to track the registration of the ships belonging to Canada Steamship Lines. My research revealed that Atlantic Erie was called, in 1988—and I know I am not allowed to name the Minister of Finance, but perhaps it was his father—the Honourable Paul Martin. It was probably his father, who was a minister. This ship is registered in the Bahamas.
We also learned from Lloyd's Register of Ships that the Atlantic Superior —