Business of Supply  Indeed. What good fortune. The Minister of Finance may just have one million shares. That is debatable. He probably has two million shares in Morneau Shepell, and he introduces Bill C-27, which would bring business to his own company, from which he profits. Bill C-27 would replace defined benefits with target benefits.

Business of Supply  Surprise, surprise, Madam Speaker, the answer is no. I can feel the disappointment. The Minister of Finance is a very smart, but sometimes wily, man, and he used a loophole to avoid putting his shares and assets in a blind trust. He put them in a numbered company. He thought that no one would realize, and meanwhile, his own company, and therefore his own bank account, would profit from Bill C-27, which he introduced.

Business of Supply  Yes, Madam Speaker. It had a direct impact. Morneau Shepell shares went up, and the Minister of Finance himself could profit from that. That is why we moved this motion today and why we are holding this debate in the House of Commons. The Minister of Finance must—

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to talk about the NDP motion. Although it would give me even more pleasure not to have to talk about this issue, the Minister of Finance's indiscretions give us no choice. He wounds our collective psyche by acting as though there was no apparent conflict of interest between his decisions and the companies he owns.

Business of Supply  I stand corrected, Madam Speaker; the member for Hochelaga says it can happen once or twice. Despite its constant refrain about the middle class and those working hard to join it, it seems like all of the decisions made by this government actually benefit the top 1%, the very elite to which the finance minister belongs.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, why not a gazillion dollars while they are at it? It is becoming clear that both the Liberals and Conservatives are not serious about tax fairness. Neither are willing to discuss tax avoidance carried out by big corporations, CEOs, and the use of tax havens. The Liberals' consultations on tax changes are too short and too narrow.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, the tax measures proposed by the Minister of Finance have sparked a lot of heated debate, and that is putting it mildly. They have also raised a lot of concerns. People are being bombarded with information from all sides, and it is often contradictory. The only thing we know for sure is that Netflix will not have to pay its fair share.

La Petite-Patrie Community Resource Centre  Mr. Speaker, even as tonnes of good food end up in the trash because of food waste, many families cannot afford fruits and vegetables because of rising food costs. What can people do about this? They can do like the Centre de ressources et d'action communautaire de La Petite-Patrie, which recovers food from the Jean-Talon market.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question, which gives me an opportunity to reiterate one of the first things I said in my speech. The Liberals' tax plan for the middle class does absolutely nothing for anyone who earns less than $45,000 a year. According to the Liberal Party, people who earn less than $45,000 a year do not need help.

Business of Supply  That is an excellent question and an excellent comment, Madam Speaker. The consultations were held in the middle of the summer. They were too short and too hastily put together, and they wrapped up yesterday. We are asking the government to hold more consultations, but also on the broader issue of tax evasion.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his very legitimate question, one that we have recognized from the beginning. A salaried worker who, I would hope, is unionized, as my colleague pointed out, does not have the same opportunities as someone who is incorporated or owns a private company.

Business of Supply  Madame Speaker, I would first inform you that I will be sharing my time with my illustrious colleague from Essex, whom I commend on her excellent work. She has been an excellent addition to our team since her election. I would like to begin by taking a moment to go over the Liberal platform and all of the Liberal promises that have been broken in the first two years of this government's term.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, what does the member think about all the broken promises of the Liberals. It would be very interesting, because they were supposed to help small businesses by reducing their taxation from 11% to 9%, but they did nothing. They were supposed to study the whole system of tax evasion, but they are targeting only small businesses.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I would like to ask my Conservative colleague a question, but first I would like to remind him of something that the Liberals do not like to hear. The Liberal platform of 2015 indicated that they wanted to look at all tax measures, billions of dollars' worth, but nothing was said about targeting just small and medium-sized businesses.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, horrific scenes that we thought were a thing of the past have been playing out in Catalonia. People have been arrested, injured, and shot with rubber bullets, and seniors have been dragged out into the street simply because they wanted to vote. Madrid is using force to deny Catalans their right to self-determination.