Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her cogent presentation on this mammoth bill.
My hon. friend has mentioned the comments by former Auditor General Sheila Fraser, who said that there had not been an updating bill along these lines, to update the tax laws, since 1998. I also notice that Thomas McDonnell, who is a tax lawyer with Thorsteinssons, added what seem to be the comments of the general public about the omnibus budget bills by the government. He said, “My printed version of the changes and accompanying notes runs well in excess of 900 pages. The Bill will also be passed without much in the way of informed debate in the House”.
The hon. member has raised very validly the delay in bringing forward these kinds of changes. Clearly, the changes are long needed and are supported. Could she speak to whether it is important for the government to start bringing forward, at least on a yearly basis, these kinds of changes? At least then we could be sure that we were increasing the revenue side of the stream, if not the payouts to those who are deserving of the support of the federal government.