Honourable senators, first of all, I must say that I’m troubled by this twenty-fourth report of the Banking, Trade and Commerce Committee entitled “Canada: Still Open for Business?”.

Like Senator Tkachuk, I’ve been a member of that committee for quite some time. My interest in economic matters should come as no surprise to my fellow senators, but because of my surgery last fall, I had to step back temporarily. However, my temporary absence in no way diminished my interest in our studies.

I will comment on the study as it relates to two major issues, first, with regard to its recommendation for a Royal Commission on taxation, and second, with regard to our tax competitiveness.

Tax systems around the world are complex and Canada’s does not stand out as being a simple one to apply. Over the years, additional complex regulations created the necessity for the Canada Revenue Agency to issue interpretive documents. Navigating the tax system is not an easy task for individuals or corporations.

I don’t know how many countries in the world have tax courts, but it seems to me that this Canadian entity is quite busy.

The twenty-fourth report of the Banking Committee recommends a Royal Commission on taxation to examine Canada’s tax system with the goal of improving efficiency, simplicity and international competitiveness. I do not believe that a Royal Commission is necessary to improve the efficiency of the system and simplify it. In fact, I believe that the most appropriate group to recommend efficiency and simplicity to the current system would be a combination of current Canada Revenue Agency employees along with former and current tax court judges mandated as a one-year task force to recommend efficient and simple statuses and rules.

This focused expert task force can deliver within a one-year time frame. The recommendations of a Royal Commission with a three-year mandate are not required to simplify our tax act. However, it would provide a grand stage for some corporate entities to apply pressure for a reduction in their taxes.

In fact, for decades corporate Canada has been lobbying not only for tax cuts for themselves, but they have also been arguing that taxes for small- and medium-sized businesses should be increased, stating that some SMEs do not want to grow their businesses so that they would be taxed at a lower rate.

Based on that premise, if you believe that SMEs do not want to grow their businesses, then I ask: Have you ever met a businessperson who does not want to grow their enterprise? Have you ever met such a person? Of course, if corporate Canada manages to force increased taxes for SMEs, then their next step would be that all businesses should pay the same taxes, regardless of their size.