Finance committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I take a bit of issue with Mr. Julian's characterizing what's happening here as a filibuster. I think it's a spirited debate. A filibuster carries certain connotations. I don't doubt the sincerity of Mr. Julian, as he is a sincere person. I disagree with him a lot of the time, but he is someone who has added a great deal to committee deliberations.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's good to see colleagues. Mr. Chair, I won't take too much of the committee's time. I just wanted to take a few moments, if I could, to recap where we are. For those back at home, after weeks of watching it could be easy to be confused as to why we're here.

Finance committee  Chair, these documents I just listed were separate from and in addition to the request for the production of documents captured in my colleague Peter Julian's motion of July 7, which asked for a number of documents to be released to the committee by August 8. They were all released on July 27 and were critical in shaping the subsequent work of this committee in its study of the government's decision to enter into a contribution agreement with WE Charity.

Expropriation Act  The same must be said for all private property owners. It would appear that the recently signed Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement on trade addresses the issues raised by my private member's bill, Bill C-222. As a result of signing this trade agreement, it would appear foreign investors in Canadian property are afforded more protection than Canadian owners of Canadian property.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, at the Global Forum just a few minutes ago, the finance minister said there is no free lunch during the pandemic. I disagree. Banks have made over $15 billion in profits so far, billionaires have amassed more than $37 billion in wealth and web giants like Amazon have made obscene profits and paid little tax.

Income Tax Act  Madam Speaker, my thanks to members for allowing that shift in time. Of course, the member for Courtenay—Alberni has been integral to this legislation being brought forward, which helps to correct so many of the errors that were in the first version of commercial rent relief. I would like to shout out, as I do when I'm talking about small and medium-sized businesses, to the New Westminster Chamber of Commerce, of which I have been a member for a long time, and the Burnaby Board of Trade, of which I have also been a member for many years.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I would like to give a shout-out to my colleague, the hon. member for Courtenay—Alberni. He has been the strongest advocate for small business in this Parliament. He does extraordinary work and I would like to underscore his amazing defence of small businesses. I would also like to give a shout-out to the New Westminster Chamber of Commerce, of which I am a long-time member, and the Burnaby Board of Trade of which I am also a member.

Finance committee  I know that he has taken issue with particular decisions made by the government in the past, which he's quite free to do. I noticed, though, and I think it's important to say back to Mr. Lake that it is interesting—I'll use a neutral word—that Mr. Lake failed to mention the record of the Harper government.

Finance committee  He is free to to do that.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, colleagues. I'd especially like to thank Ms. Dzerowicz for reminding us of the importance of pre-budget consultations. I echo that sentiment completely. I know I put it on the record last meeting, but I think we have to, as members of Parliament entrusted to carry out the will of constituents, really ask ourselves where we are in the country right now.

Peter Dowling  Peter was a tireless advocate for local foods, sustainable agriculture and small family farms. He was involved in many of the important agriculture policy battles of the day, including supporting supply management, advocating for farmers on free trade issues, opposing the introduction of rBGH hormone into our dairy system and leading the Save Our Prison Farms efforts, where he was among those who took cattle to Parliament Hill to protest the closure of prison farms in Kingston.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the intervention of colleagues. It's not my intent here to obstruct the discussion, to stand in the way of what has been proposed by Mr. Kelly in the form of an amendment to a motion. Of course, we need to deal with that as a committee. I've said at length here that when we continue to debate matters that have been dealt with in so many ways, maybe not to the pure satisfaction of opposition colleagues, it obstructs us from dealing with the substantive matters at hand.

Finance committee  It dealt with the difficult circumstances that a minority party in government faces in trying to control committee proceedings. It was a handbook that led Leon Benoit, then chair of the international trade committee, to adjourn a proceeding—and Peter Julian may remember this—and storm out of the room. He threw his pen down and said, “Adjourned”, leaving the majority of the members, who had just voted to proceed, in something of a quandary.

Finance committee  The specific request is for the memos that went to cabinet on May 8 and May 22. Those are very specific requests, and the PCO has already indicated that they will be providing those to us, and we would appreciate having the co-operation of the PMO. We know that you have a background with both WE and its predecessor organization.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I've just confirmed with the NDP whip's office; there is no agreement on limiting a committee meeting like this one. So that's at least two parties that say there is no agreement around that. In fact, the whip's office has said, very clearly, that if the committee believes it should be extending its time, it's free to do so.