Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from South Surrey--White Rock--Langley. It is always a pleasure to work with her on the Standing Committee on Transport and Government Operations.
Concerning the question she raised, I want to confirm that, as she said, the minister did co-operate for a long time with Canada 3000 before it went out of business.
As concerns her more specific question on the reimbursement of taxes, namely the GST and the HST, it is obvious that these taxes are levied at the point of sale, when a provider offers a certain service to a customer. Normally, that is when the tax is paid.
Consumers can get a GST or HST refund from the provider, if the provider also reimbursed the payment he or she received for services not rendered. But if the whole payment is not reimbursed, there is no specific transaction that allows the reimbursement of taxes paid on a service that was supposed to be provided.
In the case of insolvency, particularly the bankruptcy of Canada 3000, the taxes collected are part of the assets and liabilities, that fall under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. It is quite clear that all creditors then have a right of recourse. It is useful to point out to them that they can apply for the services of PricewaterhouseCoopers, trustee in bankruptcy for the airlines. Since December 4, very relevant information is updated every day on their website to help all creditors have access to recourses as fast as possible.
On this site, all creditors will find precise information on how to submit a claim as well as a frequently asked questions section. There is also—and I am announcing it officially—a toll free number for all creditors, which is 1-877-973-3000; this number gives people direct access.
It is clear that the claims processing procedure could be long and complex. Patience will certainly be needed, but normally, in the case of bankruptcies such as this one, it is the common procedure to have access to the trustee in bankruptcy in order to at least recover part of the taxes collected when consumers bought services they were entitled to receive.
Unfortunately, this is the situation we are facing now. I thank the hon. member for her question.