Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the format this evening which allows more interaction between the government and opposition parties.
I have a quick question on private woodlot taxation. There are around 440,000 private woodlot owners in Canada. There are certainly more on the east coast than on the west coast but they are certainly prevalent across the country. Part of the challenge woodlot owners face is an onerous tax burden because they tend to harvest their woodlots every 50 to 80 years in a cyclical manner. There is no way to amortize that profit over a 10 or 15 year tax period. They pay their tax up front, all at once.
What we have been suggesting and pushing the government to do is to find a way to accommodate private woodlot owners so they do not have to pay all the tax up front and can amortize the tax payable over a 10 year period. This would provide them with the opportunity to do some replanting, some thinning and some silviculture practices in the meantime so they have some expenses to claim against it.
I would like to hear the minister's comments on that and the possibility of looking at that.