Madam Speaker, I rise today in good faith and in the spirit of collaboration to get things done, to move Canada forward, and I believe that Bill C-230 can help us do that. Bill C-230 is an act to amend the Financial Administration Act and to make consequential amendments to other acts by establishing a public registry of large debts and obligations that have been waived, written off or forgiven.
At its heart, this bill is about tax fairness, transparency and respect for the small businesses that form the backbone of our economy. Across Canada, small business owners open their doors every morning knowing that success is never guaranteed. They manage payroll, remit taxes and comply with complex regulatory requirements, often at significant risk. They do so because they believe in our country and believe in a system that is fair, predictable and applied equally. Bill C-230 is about reinforcing that core belief for businesses in Canada.
The bill would require the President of the Treasury Board to establish and maintain a public, online, searchable registry to disclose information about large debts or obligations, those valued at $1 million or more, owed to the Crown by corporations, trust companies or partnerships where those debts have been waived, written off or forgiven. The registry would include the name of the entity, the amount forgiven, the period to which it relates and the statutory authority under which the debt arose. This is not an exercise in blame or punishment. It is an exercise in accountability.
When small businesses fall behind on their tax obligations, the consequences are immediate and visible. Payment plans are negotiated, interest accrues, and enforcement measures are well understood. What has been far less visible, however, is when very large corporate debts, sometimes involving millions of dollars, are forgiven by the federal government. Even when such decisions are justified, the lack of transparency creates a perception of unequal treatment. Bill C-230 would address that gap directly.
By making large-scale debt forgiveness transparent, it would reassure small businesses that there is no separate, hidden system for the biggest players in the economy. It would send a clear message that extraordinary relief must be accompanied by extraordinary accountability.
Importantly, the bill is carefully designed. It would apply only to large entities and only above a significant monetary threshold. It would not expose personal information, nor would it interfere with legitimate tax administration. The bill would also include targeted, consequential amendments to existing tax and excise statutes to ensure that confidential information may be disclosed solely for the purpose of maintaining the registry. In other words, the disclosure is limited, lawful and purposeful.
For small businesses, fairness is not about preferential treatment. It is about knowing that everyone plays by the same rules. When a local retailer struggles to meet remittance deadlines while reading headlines about massive corporate writeoffs, confidence in the system erodes. When that same small business owner gets a call from a CRA agent because they are short by a couple of hundred dollars on their last submission in their CRA online account, it sticks with them. Transparency would restore a sense of confidence in Canada.
This bill would also strengthen fiscal discipline. Public disclosure encourages careful decision-making, ensures that debt forgiven is properly documented and allows Parliament and Canadians to better understand how public funds are managed. Sunlight, as the saying goes, is the best disinfectant. Bill C-230 would not raise taxes. It would not create new penalties. It would simply affirm a basic principle that small businesses already live by every day: Accountability matters.
By supporting this bill, we stand with the entrepreneurs who keep our communities vibrant, who employ our neighbours and who trust their government will treat them fairly. Bill C-230 tells them that when it comes to tax obligations and debt forgiveness, transparency applies to everyone, especially when the sums involved are large.
For these reasons, I urge all members of this House to consider supporting Bill C-230 to provide a degree of accountability and confidence in our taxation system.