Mr. Speaker, I listened to the minister and I am absolutely astounded by what I heard.
Year after year, the current Auditor General and her predecessor Mr. Desautels have condemned the government for aiding tax evasion by not amending the Income Tax Act and refusing to abolish tax conventions that make no sense. Some do make sense, such as those signed with countries that have roughly the same tax rates as we do. If profits are taxed once, they must not be taxed a second time.
But in Barbados the tax rate is zero—zero is zero—and when profits come back here, they are not taxed. Should that be allowed? Can the minister explain how allowing billions of dollars to be invested abroad without being taxed either here or there is in the best interest of Canadian taxpayers? Who benefits from that? A tiny proportion of the population and big multinationals.
I would like the minister to answer.