Mr. Speaker, the Panama papers exposed the rampant abuse of tax havens.
These notorious revelations, the largest information leak of its kind in history, make it clear that it is high time the Government of Canada took meaningful action to put an end to this kind of scheme, recovered the money that was diverted, and took legal action against the fraudsters.
Furthermore, Canadians are demanding real change to our country's laws. They want the government to restore a tax regime that is fair for all, regardless of their income, which means prohibiting secret amnesty deals or discount agreements for the rich; reviewing the agreements Canada signed with some tax havens; and allocating more resources to the Canada Revenue Agency to investigate and combat tax evasion.
If the government does not intervene, the wealthy will continue to profit from our lenient tax laws. The Liberal government must propose legislative amendments as soon as possible to eliminate these loopholes and to combat tax evasion.
As honest Canadians are filling out their tax returns, now is the time to crack down on these profiteers once and for all.