Elizabeth May: Mr. Speaker, it was unfair for the member for York Centre to attack the member for Jeanne-Le Ber. We all know that tax avoidance is not the same as tax evasion. During this debate, I have googled McCarthy Tétrault. It is already advising its well-heeled clients how to avoid the implications of various tax measures, whereas the artistic community, many of whom survive on less than $12,000 a year, but one year might have good earnings, has been working as a group for many years as a matter of good public policy to fix this by allowing averaging out for people in that community.
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It is unfair and it is not just the member for York Centre. There is a continual effort to beat up on one member of the House who was very active in the ACTRA community before being elected. I just feel it is egregious.
John Carmichael: Mr. Speaker, I did not hear a question per se, but within any tax system, there are provisions that allow and provide a road map for taxpayers to pay their taxes, in specific instances, within economic action plan 2013. The member mentioned McCarthy Tétrault as one example of a company that provides advice to its clients. Every auditing firm and legal firm across the county does, similarly, in helping their clients to meet their tax obligations in a fair and legal way.