Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak to Bill S-3, An Act to implement conventions and protocols concluded between Canada and Colombia, Greece and Turkey for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.
The first thing I want to say is that the bill's alphanumeric designation is a clear indication that it comes from the Senate of Canada. We have to say that the Conservatives talk out of both sides of their mouths when it comes to the Senate's status as an undemocratic and unrepresentative institution.
In the House and at rallies in Alberta, they rail against the Senate, but when it comes to signing treaties, which are the most important expression of our international diplomacy, they do not hesitate to introduce bills like this one in the Senate rather than the House. This is another fine example of the Conservative government's hypocrisy.
What is more, as the bill's title indicates, this bill is supposed to avoid double taxation and tax avoidance or fiscal evasion, as the bill title states.
I will start by talking about double taxation. Because there are many countries in the world and we live in a world in transition that is increasingly open to trade in goods and services, many people spend part of their professional lives in different countries. This sort of treaty is valuable in that it prevents people from being penalized and having difficulty working and crossing borders. We do wonder, though, whether it will really do anything to prevent tax evasion.
My colleague, the member for Hochelaga, just gave several examples, including Liechtenstein, which is very high on the list of opaque countries, to say the least.
According to the OECD, there is $6 trillion in opaque countries, that is, $6,000 billion. This is not far off the estimate of $10 trillion to $12 trillion that the Tax Justice Network, an extraordinary English organization, came up with. These figures are very close.
Madam Speaker, I must ask your consent to share my time with my friend and colleague, the member for Sault Ste. Marie. I was asked to remind you.