Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank my hon. colleague from Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca for his absolutely amazing speech.
Before he even began speaking, I jotted down a question on my paper. There is a tendency to think that contraband tobacco comes primarily from first nations. I am glad he gave an overview of the situation and dispelled that myth.
According to an article published in national media outlets a few months ago, some estimates suggest that not 50%, but closer to 90% of illegal tobacco in Canada comes from China. That is a huge proportion. This illegal tobacco is entering Canada through British Columbia, where my colleague is from.
I completely agree that we absolutely must examine this problem in committee. However, are there not better ways to invest our resources? Could we not go a little further and do more?
I think everyone here wants to act in good faith. However, I feel as though we are getting away from the crux of the issue. I wonder what my colleague thinks about that.