Madam Speaker, I listened to the hon. member's speech with some consternation. He seemed to be all over the map and all over the place on his discussions.
He and other members on the government side kept referring to the hon. member for LaSalle—Émard and his stint as finance minister. I guess my question on tax conventions, which would roll easily into tax havens, would be what the hon. member actually thinks of the process that the member for LaSalle—Émard went through as a minister of finance for Canada to negotiate a tax haven that he eventually ended up using himself. Furthermore, we have to understand how important a person the minister of finance is in government, not only in business. It is a very tricky balance and I think it is one that we do need to discuss.
The facts are this. There was a tax haven. A convention was formed between Canada and Liberia that allowed Canadian companies, in this case Canada Steamship Lines but other Canadian companies as well, to have some tax free status by sailing out of Liberia. There was a lot of thunder in the House. I read the speech. There was a lot of chest pounding about shutting down Liberia but there was no talk about the fact that Barbados was left open and companies were transferred directly from Liberia to Barbados.
I think it is a real flaw that we allow Canadian companies to be taxed offshore. It is a bigger flaw to allow a minister of finance to participate in that.
I do not know the answer, although I think I do, but I would like the hon. member's reply. Does he think that is the way a minister of finance should act?
We must understand that when a minister of finance owns an offshore company, sits on the board of the World Bank and has intimate dealings with the rest of the countries in the world regarding upcoming taxation schemes, he is the first person to know, long before anyone else, what proposed tax changes may be occurring in the European Union or in the United States. This is an individual who has access to a so-called blind trust at the average of four times a year while he is negotiating on the part of Canada and running a business. What is the member's opinion on that?