Madam Speaker, I have here a petition signed by a large number of my constituents from Red Bay and Forteau in the Labrador Straits and from Charlottetown on the south coast. Their petition concerns the unfair differential tax treatment of those taxpayers who received lump sum payments under the Atlantic groundfish licence retirement program. This is a long-standing issue, and the petitioners call for a full review by the Minister of National Revenue, with a view toward ensuring fair and equitable treatment for all those affected by this tax interpretation mistake.
This petition affects some 800 fishers in Newfoundland and Labrador and 50 in Quebec and, sadly, some of them have passed away.