Statement made on 09 May 2008 by Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette
Hon. Céline Hervieux-Payette (Leader of the Opposition):
Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. As the leader knows, the provisions of Bill C-10, which gives the government the power to censor the arts, are currently before the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce and not the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications, which would normally study such measures. This is because the government chose to hide these measures within a 560-page bill with the description "An Act to amend the Income Tax Act, including amendments in relation to foreign investment entities and non-resident trusts, and to provide for the bijural expression of the provisions of that Act."
Can the Leader of the Government in the Senate, who preaches transparency and accountability, please tell us why the minister in the other place made no reference to this very important clause while making the case for his bill at second reading? Why was it hidden in this massive tax bill in clause 124?
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