Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure and an honour to take part in this debate on Bill C-230, concerning transparency. First, here is a quick explanation of what the bill is all about. In Canada, and in other countries around the world, the government sometimes enters into agreements with businesses or individuals who owe money for unpaid taxes. Sometimes, agreements are reached.
The bill seeks to increase the transparency surrounding this mechanism, which allows large corporations that reach agreements with the government to have certain debts written off. The bill seeks to ensure that debts over $1 million that are written off are publicly listed in a registry that would be available to all Canadians.
That is essentially what the bill we are debating today is all about. We just heard members from the government and the other opposition parties express interest in moving this bill forward and in reaching an agreement in principle to study what it is. Before getting to the heart of the matter, I would like to commend the bill's sponsor, the member for Simcoe North.
The member for Simcoe North was elected in 2021. I can assure the House that, in the last four years, he has made a very great impression on everybody who works with him. We have heard the other parties saying that he is a very strong man and parliamentarian. I am very proud to work with him. He is very bright, wise and hard-working, and we understand why; it is because he previously worked with the late hon. Jim Flaherty, the famous former finance minister in the Stephen Harper government.
Let us get back to the heart of the debate surrounding this bill. As I said earlier, agreements are sometimes reached between a government and companies that do not pay their debts, taxes and duties. Agreements may be reached to set all that aside and write off the debt.
There is a difference between someone who has a minor problem and is a little behind on their payments, and debts totalling billions of dollars. As The Globe and Mail reported in recent months, the Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA, wrote off $18 billion last year. That is terrible, when we think about it. The CRA is literally hunting down small and medium-sized businesses in order to get every last cent that is owed to the government. If, God forbid, hard-working Canadians with modest incomes are $200 or $300 short on their tax return, the CRA is quick to come down on them and make them pay. Interest begins to accrue on day one, even though sometimes the information they get from the CRA is incorrect. I will discuss that later.
We learned that large companies got out of paying a full $18 billion, even though they were supposed to. A debt of $4.7 billion was written off. The government waived $10.9 billion and companies were exempted from paying $2.6 billion. We are talking about a total of $18 billion. We could do a lot with that money, but the government is simply waving it off. Companies owe this money, but they are not paying it back.
That is why the bill aims for transparency, so that Canadians can know which companies have reached an agreement with the government to avoid paying a debt of more than $1 million. We are not targeting small businesses or citizens who owe $200 in taxes, but rather those who owe more than $1 million in taxes, who have not paid and who have made an agreement with the government not to pay. I believe that Canadian taxpayers have a right to know so that they can then judge the government's decisions.
In a democracy, the more transparency the better for society. However, we understand that agreements protecting confidentiality and information are a fact of life. Let us be clear: The purpose of the bill is not to disclose corporate secrets. Rather, it seeks to determine how companies are managed to understand why taxes that should have been paid were not. That is why we need to see what kind of agreement we can reach in this regard, and that is the purpose of this bill. It is a very good thing.
A responsible government is not afraid to go public about decisions that affect businesses. Transparency makes it easier for people to engage in healthy and honest debate when it comes to judging government decisions. Canadians deserve to know why companies are not paying all of their taxes. They have to pay, just like everyone else. It is an obligation. Why, then, are large write-offs not disclosed? I must admit that, when I first began studying this bill, I was quite surprised to learn that so much of the money that should have been paid had in fact not been collected. Last year it was $18 billion.
I am the national revenue critic for the official opposition. I took over the role following my colleague from Simcoe North. As members can see, I was in good hands. However, I still have a lot to learn before I can be as relevant and effective as my colleague from Simcoe North. That said, it is quite clear that the Canada Revenue Agency really needs to improve its image, and that is to say the least. There is nothing more important for a taxpayer than to ensure that they pay the exact amount of taxes owed to the government.
However, the Auditor General's report, released just over a month ago, gave a very scathing review of the current situation at the Canada Revenue Agency. Mores specifically, it reveals that telephone wait times are approximately twice as long as expected. When someone does manage to reach an agent who is supposed to provide accurate and relevant information, the Auditor General's report on the CRA says that the information provided is incorrect 83% of the time.
Imagine a worker who cannot afford an accountant and has to fill out his tax return on his own. He is told that everything is fine, that he has to complete line x by writing in amount y, and that it will be correct. However, four times out of five, the information he is given is incorrect. Then, unfortunately, a few weeks later he receives a notice from the CRA demanding full payment of the $200 or so he owes because of a delay, because he did not fill out his return correctly. Now the interest is accruing rapidly, but the information he was given was incorrect. The whole story is pretty astounding. It is quite shocking to learn that $18 billion has not been collected as it should have been from businesses and individuals.
That is why this bill seeks to make information available and ensure that everything is done properly. We have heard some highly relevant comments from our colleagues about protecting confidential information and data. I want to assure everyone in the House that the purpose of this bill is not to expose these companies, much less reveal their corporate secrets. If by chance these companies have entered agreements that allow them to avoid paying $2 million, $3 million or $4 million in taxes owed, then it seems only fitting that Canadian workers should be informed.
Obviously, our party supports the steps taken by our colleague from Simcoe North. We have observed that both the government and the opposition parties agree in principle, while pointing out the fact that we will have to work effectively in committee. That is the beauty of democracy. Those who watch and listen to question period already know that our debates can be quite harsh at times. That goes without saying. On the other hand, when we can find common ground with all the parties in the interest of ministerial transparency, to give Canadians more information, then Canadians are the first to benefit.