Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Before I get to my questions, I want to begin by thanking Ms. Watson for being with us today. Her story is a powerful one. I believe she wanted to remind us that this is not a victimless crime.
Although there are certain individuals who are impacted very directly, I would argue that the classes of victims are almost limitless [Technical difficulty—Editor]. Anybody who doesn't have a family doctor, can't afford to pay for school or suffers from a lack of access to services is a victim of those who choose to evade paying taxes that they properly owe, and the quality of life that we all enjoy is diminished as a result.
My first question is for Mr. Cohen.
You spoke with some enthusiasm about the announcement to establish a registry for beneficial ownership. This is useful in this audience of people who study the budget, but I'm curious as to whether you can put into plain language, for Canadians who may be watching, the importance of having a publicly accessible registry so folks know who's behind some of these shell corporations or organizations that might be used to hide the beneficial owner who might be benefiting from those who evade taxes.