Income Tax Act  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak to Bill C-274, which has to do with the transfer of family businesses, a subject I have been interested in for quite some time. The first document I consulted was the December 2010 report by Suzanne Landry for Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, a chartered professional accountants firm.

Centre for Maintaining Emotional Balance  Mr. Speaker, today is the 30th anniversary of the foundation commonly referred to as CAMÉÉ, the Centre d'activités pour le maintien de l'équilibre émotionnel, or the centre for maintaining emotional balance. Created in 1986 by and for people with mental health problems, this support group provides its members a place where they can learn to cope with their fears and suffering, and find ways to regain control of their lives.

Canada Revenue Agency  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his interest in this matter. I want him to know that the CRA has a number of tax information exchange agreements with various countries, agreements that have been effective for quite some time. It uses that information in the course of its audits, which really helps us stop the people who use these kinds of schemes and those who would attempt to do so.

Canada Revenue Agency  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak this afternoon in response to my colleague from Sherbrooke, who is giving me the opportunity to tell him everything that the Canada Revenue Agency is doing to combat tax evasion and offshore tax avoidance. The government is committed to maintaining a tax system that is open and fair for all Canadians.

Marie-Françoise Mégie  Mr. Speaker, on January 29, 2014, the member for Papineau made an extraordinary announcement, the purpose of which was to put an end to partisanship and patronage in the Senate. On July 7, 2016, the Minister of Democratic Institutions launched our new independent Senate appointment process.

Canada Revenue Agency  Mr. Speaker, as I said, an advisory committee was formed. If there are recommendations to be made, the committee will make them. If legislative measures are necessary, we will get to them in due course. However, in this specific case, the hon. member wants to know the measures that were taken.

Canada Revenue Agency  Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking my colleague, the opposition member for Sherbrooke. I know that international tax avoidance is a subject that interests him as much as it does me. I am pleased to answer his specific question by telling him first off that, with our unprecedented $444-million investment, he can expect to see the Canada Revenue Agency taking some significant measures.

Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsman  Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the 2015-16 Annual Report of the Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsman.

Hurricane Matthew and Haiti  Mr. Speaker, this morning, it is with great sorrow that I rise to talk about the most recent natural disaster to hit Haiti, leaving at least 478 people dead. My thoughts are with my Haitian brothers and sisters who were affected by the hurricane and with their families in Canada and Haiti.

Canada Revenue Agency  Madam Speaker, my colleague knows perfectly well that section 241 of the Income Tax Act is about confidentiality of information. We cannot disclose personal information about a taxpayer or an individual. That is why he got an answer that provided general information about 16 taxpayers.

Canada Revenue Agency  Madam Speaker, I have had discussions with my colleague about the Panama Papers, tax evasion, and international tax avoidance on several occasions. This evening, I am pleased to once again talk about some of the measures that the Liberal government is taking to combat tax evasion and international tax avoidance.

Canada Revenue Agency  Mr. Speaker, in the last session, my colleague and I sat here and discussed international tax evasion at length. What I can say is that this is the first time that the Canada Revenue Agency has had this kind of money to combat tax evasion and international tax avoidance and to correct this situation.

Canada Revenue Agency  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to answer my colleague's question. It is true that, recently, we have heard a lot of talk about KPMG, the Panama Papers, and now the Bahamas. These matters all have to do with international tax evasion or avoidance. My colleague spoke about various treaties that seek to prevent double taxation.

Canada Revenue Agency  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to answer the question raised by my hon. colleague. First of all, we should understand that the offshore tax avoidance scheme set up by KPMG was discovered thanks to the efforts of the Canada Revenue Agency. Many of the participants have already been identified and the file is still active.

Canada Revenue Agency  Mr. Speaker, my colleague would like a specific response regarding KPMG. I would remind him that the Canada Revenue Agency was the first to uncover the scheme. Then, to ensure due diligence, in early March the agency ordered an independent and thorough review of how the KPMG matter was being handled, and it made efforts to obtain the names of all the taxpayers involved in the scheme.