Mr. Speaker, I think the simple solution is if the hon. member believes that what he has read in the newspapers is in fact the case he can say it outside, put it outside, and deal with the implications of that. I think it is unfair, it is unwarranted and it is unnecessary to besmirch the reputation of an honourable gentleman in this House without evidence. If the member does not have it, that is one thing. If he has it, he should say it outside where he is not immune.
I thought the issue here was taxes. It is not about a particular member. It is about an issue. Let us try to enlighten the House a little bit. Canadian businesses understandably want to be competitive. What is important here is that as a fellow Commonwealth state, with which we have deep ties, a tax treaty formed the basis, in this case, of giving an exemption to these Barbados corporations that have been in place since 1980. The choice to leave in place the long-standing exemption for income from these Barbados corporations was an entirely reasonable one.
I want to point out to the member that this does not mean we are standing still. For the benefit of the member, we are currently reviewing both our tax treaty with Barbados and the relevant income tax regulations to make sure they fit our tax policy goals.
Changes, the hon. member may like to know, may be considered, but let us be clear: Any changes will have to result in a careful and thorough analysis and we are going to look at that not by political motivation but by real facts.