Mr. Speaker, I listened to the comments of our colleague. He referred particularly at the beginning of his remarks to cutting and eliminating some loopholes in the tax system. He gave a few examples.
I seem to remember only a few days ago the leader of his party talked about getting assurances from the government that a measure that existed for utility companies in his province whereby they did not have to pay taxes would be retained. I find the discourse rather interesting in that regard.
I want to ask him about another so-called loophole, at least in the eyes of some, not me. I consider the lifetime capital gains exemption of $500,000 on the disposition of farmland to be a very valuable instrument. It is a form of pension for farmers as they accumulate wealth gradually. When they dispose of their assets they are able to keep those funds without taxes. This is much the same way that people accumulate by making tax deductible contributions toward their pension fund if they are teachers, factory workers or what have you.
Does this capital gains exemption fit into one of the loopholes to be abolished? Does my colleague agree with me and hopefully with all the officials of the finance department who may be listening to us making these remarks now that it should be retained for the benefit of farmers so they can have what is the equivalent of a pension plan for the agricultural community?