Madam Speaker, I will pick up where the member ended off, because I think there is a great deal of merit to that.
What most Canadians witness when they tune into Parliament, for those who do tune into it where it is televised, is often question period. However, what we see in question period is not necessarily reflective of what is outside of it. We see a lot of co-operation. Based on what I have heard, both from the introducer, the member for Simcoe North, and from the parliamentary secretary, I get the sense that maybe they had a great deal of discussion about the issue of taxes and the Canada Revenue Agency. At least that is the sense I am getting.
If we look at the process, it tells me that at times, it can work to the advantage of all Canadians when positive things take place in our standing committees. The best I can tell, the member, who plays an important role in opposition, has gone to a committee and found through the committee experience an area where we are somewhat vulnerable, at the end of the day bringing forward legislation that would provide more transparency and accountability. It seems to be very reasonable.
I listened to the parliamentary secretary's comments, and on behalf of the government, he expressed some genuine concerns the government has. This bill will, in all likelihood, go to committee, and I hope that members on all sides of the House will look at ways we might be able to improve it.
A couple of things have happened. One is that a member has brought forward a private member's bill based on issues that have surfaced here in Parliament. By raising this issue and bringing it forward in a private member's bill, which is programmed, I must say, it will ultimately be able to pass through the system, in essence because he was low in the numbers. He has taken advantage of that, as I or any other member would, to try to make a real difference.
It is encouraging to see this type of legislation come forward. I hope to see it go to committee and to see some amendments made to it, because it sounds like there will be a need for amendments. My colleague made reference, for example, to the $1 million figure. That seems potentially reasonable. We will hear more about it when we go to committee.
There is a great deal of concern about privacy. When I was talking with the parliamentary secretary, I asked him if he had a question on that, because I had a question I was interested in related to the partnership issue and its impact on privacy. Does the member have any concerns in regard to privacy protection?
I also have thoughts on the release of information. Could that be, in certain situations, to the detriment of workers potentially and the community as a whole? For example, there might be something of national security at a particular company. It could be something that might ultimately prevent a company from going in a certain direction, which could cause more harm. I think seeing potential concerns addressed at the committee level, because there is only going to be two hours of debate at most on this issue, has a great deal of value.
The member started off talking about the CRA, which was referenced earlier today with respect to the budget legislation. In the question I posed, I highlighted the important work the CRA does. I know that a lot of criticism is levelled at the CRA, and understandably so, especially in certain situations, but as a collection agency, if I can put it that way, working on behalf of the government, I believe it is one of the very best in the world in terms of the service it provides for all of us. When I say “all of us”, I am not talking about parliamentarians; I am talking about Canadians as a whole.
We go through some very difficult times, whether as corporations, as partnerships or as individuals. A few years ago, we were hearing a great deal about individuals having issues with CERB payments, with the wage loss program, for example, where there was no doubt abuse that had taken place. Sometimes it was intentional, and sometimes it was not. When it was not intentional, was there going to be any grace given?
When I had an opportunity to talk to the CRA on behalf of my constituents, what I found was that CRA does have a great deal of discretion, and not only for corporations, although someone pointed out that, I think he said, five corporations had $1 billion in debt written off. That is a heck of a lot of money for five corporations or businesses, if I am quoting the person correctly.
There does need to be accountability and transparency in situations, but we also recognize that there are extenuating circumstances at times that might actually justify not sharing information. A good example of that is the private individual. There are individuals who do abuse and who do break laws within our taxation system. There are privacy laws in place in order to protect. I would suggest that the same principle applies universally with all individuals or all the different sectors that go through the Canada Revenue Agency, but for a vast majority, that is not an issue.
I am very sensitive to the issue in terms of how we can protect the integrity of the system while at the same time provide additional transparency and accountability.
I have spoken previously on this issue in regard to investment when it comes to dealing with tax avoidance and evasion. Over the last number of years under the Trudeau government, substantial monies, into the hundreds of millions of dollars, have gone into looking at ways in which we can recuperate even more money in those two areas. Whether it is initiatives like budgetary initiatives to try to deal with the issue of tax fairness, or legislation like this, it is about tax fairness, accountability and transparency.
We need tax dollars. All governments need tax dollars. Canadians do not mind paying taxes if in fact they believe they are being treated fairly and if, at the end of the day, there is a benefit.
This is something all of us have a responsibility to move towards, because we want to keep the high level of respect for the CRA. If there are things we can do to increase transparency and accountability, I think that is a positive.