Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the officials for appearing again. With respect to the changes that have been put forward, do we know which sectors of the economy stand to benefit particularly? Has an analysis of that been done?

Finance committee  When we measure economic benefits, what exactly goes into that analysis by the department when we're trying to understand the ripple effects of something like this sort of incentive?

Finance committee  In making the change that you did, what sort of consultation was there, or if not consultation, what sort of analysis? You mentioned academic papers. Was that integrated into the process?

Finance committee  Very good. I just wanted clarity, because on that specific point you just mentioned at the end there, it's something that I've heard from stakeholders back home in London in terms of changes that needed to come about. I think a lot of the concerns that I've heard over the past three and a half years have been taken into account and we see some positive changes.

Finance committee  This is on the amendment that was just proposed?

Finance committee  It's a short comment. My colleague questioned your fairness. I'll speak for myself, and I know you can defend yourself, Mr. Chair. You've conducted yourself with only fairness in this committee. In fact, just last week, you called my question out of order because it strayed from the topic, and in fact, it did.

Finance committee  I'm amused by the comments by my colleague, who talks about the boundaries of the discussion. It seems to me that in his view, the opposition is going to set the boundaries of discussion. I think this committee should come to a collective view on that. When the minister comes here, I'm sure he'll talk about the budget.

Finance committee  You bring a lot of knowledge. You do not have to apologize. However, thank you very much.

Finance committee  You also say that Bill S-6 prescribes a method for the elimination of double taxation. What's the key way it does so?

Finance committee  The third bullet point has basically been dealt with. The fourth issue I want to ask about is where you say that Bill S-6 “contains a mechanism to resolve disputes involving cases where a taxpayer may have been subjected to taxation not in accordance with the Convention”. Does that anticipate possible disputes, or does it recognize that disputes have existed in the past and seek to provide a remedy?

Finance committee  Public policy should be proactive as much as possible, so I appreciate that it is built into the bill. You said it “reduces the risk of 'burdensome' taxation that may arise because of high withholding taxes.” Is that the situation now? Is this what has been learned through consultation in the lead-up to the bill?

Finance committee  Thank you to the witnesses for being here and for your service, of course. Mr. Richards raised a number of points related to SNC-Lavalin and offered a rationale for doing so. If I accused him of playing political games, I think he would respond by saying that he was exercising his parliamentary duty.

Finance committee  I just thought I would take a stab at it, Mr. Chair. That is appreciated. If you can't shed any light on that, I think the record should reflect the fact that 25 meetings took place from 2011 to 2015, again under the previous government, involving SNC-Lavalin. I thank my colleague, Mr.

Finance committee  On a point of order, Mr. Chair, I think we've strayed dramatically from the substance of Bill S-6.

Finance committee  On a point of order, Mr. Chair—