Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to return to the issues facing charities that I was discussing earlier with the minister and that my colleague Mr. Genuis was speaking of.
In my discussions with charitable organizations—for example, Imagine Canada—one of their chief complaints is that there is no home in government for charities, so when charities come to the government to lobby for changes, they often get the runaround. They don't know where to go. The department that deals with international assistance, for example, doesn't deal with changes to the Income Tax Act. The Minister of National Revenue doesn't necessarily understand the needs and problems that charities face.
The suggestion of having a home in government—for example, having charities embedded within a ministerial portfolio—has been raised with me directly by charities. I'm wondering if there have been any thoughts within government about a concept like that. There would be a ministry where charities can go to say, “These are our issues, these are our concerns, and these are our problems. What can we do to solve them?” instead of getting the runaround.
It's not just them. As Mr. Genuis said, it's us. When we in Parliament ask the Minister of National Revenue about Bill S-216, from all appearances, she doesn't know about the issue. You can see where the frustration lies.
I would really like to see this problem solved so that charities can work with the government to improve the services they provide. At the end of the day, when charities are suffering, real people in Canada and around the world are suffering.
I'd like your view on that position.