Mr. Speaker, certainly the hon. member would agree that 11 years is long enough, so it is time that we get this bill passed.
We have listened to the professional accountants industry, which represents over 75,000 tax professionals, and I have a quote from them:
Some of the measures contained in today's bill were initially proposed as early as 1999.... With unlegislated tax measures, taxpayers and professional accountants must maintain their records and forms—sometimes for years—to be in a position to comply, even without knowing when and if these measures will be approved by Parliament and enacted. This uncertainty and unpredictability places an enormous compliance burden on taxpayers, businesses, professionals and their clients.
This is what the member, the NDP finance critic, had to say about this bill only this week in finance committee:
Obviously we support the goal of closing tax loopholes and making the system in Canada clearer and easier to understand for Canadians.... [I]t's important that these technical changes be adopted so that there's clarity and certainty in tax legislation.
Therefore, let us adopt them.