Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1

An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014 and other measures

This bill was last introduced in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session, which ended in August 2015.

Sponsor

Joe Oliver  Conservative

Status

This bill has received Royal Assent and is now law.

Summary

This is from the published bill.

Part 1 implements income tax measures and related measures proposed in the February 11, 2014 budget. Most notably, it
(a) increases the maximum amount of eligible expenses for the adoption expense tax credit;
(b) expands the list of expenses eligible for the medical expense tax credit to include the cost of the design of individualized therapy plans and costs associated with service animals for people with severe diabetes;
(c) introduces the search and rescue volunteers tax credit;
(d) extends, for one year, the mineral exploration tax credit for flow-through share investors;
(e) expands the circumstances in which members of underfunded pension plans can benefit from unreduced pension-to-RRSP transfer limits;
(f) eliminates the need for individuals to apply for the GST/HST credit and allows the Minister of National Revenue to automatically determine if an individual is eligible to receive the credit;
(g) extends to 10 years the carry-forward period with respect to certain donations of ecologically sensitive land;
(h) removes, for certified cultural property acquired as part of a gifting arrangement that is a tax shelter, the exemption from the rule that deems the value of a gift to be no greater than its cost to the donor;
(i) allows the Minister of National Revenue to refuse to register, or revoke the registration of, a charity or Canadian amateur athletic association that accepts a donation from a state supporter of terrorism;
(j) reduces, for certain small and medium-sized employers, the frequency of remittances for source deductions;
(k) improves the Canada Revenue Agency’s ability to provide feedback to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada; and
(l) requires a listing of outstanding tax measures to be tabled in Parliament.
Part 1 also implements other selected income tax measures. Most notably, it
(a) introduces transitional rules relating to the labour-sponsored venture capital corporations tax credit;
(b) requires certain financial intermediaries to report to the Canada Revenue Agency international electronic funds transfers of $10,000 or more;
(c) makes amendments relating to the introduction of the Offshore Tax Informant Program of the Canada Revenue Agency;
(d) permits the disclosure of taxpayer information to an appropriate police organization in certain circumstances if the information relates to a serious offence; and
(e) provides that the Business Development Bank of Canada and BDC Capital Inc. are not financial institutions for the purposes of the Income Tax Act’s mark-to-market rules.
Part 2 implements certain goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) measures proposed in the February 11, 2014 budget by
(a) expanding the GST/HST exemption for training that is specially designed to assist individuals with a disorder or disability to include the service of designing such training;
(b) expanding the GST/HST exemption for services rendered to individuals by certain health care practitioners to include professional services rendered by acupuncturists and naturopathic doctors;
(c) adding eyewear specially designed to treat or correct a defect of vision by electronic means to the list of GST/HST zero-rated medical and assistive devices;
(d) extending to newly created members of a group the election that allows members of a closely-related group to not account for GST/HST on certain supplies between them, introducing joint and several (or solidary) liability for the parties to that election for any GST/HST liability on those supplies and adding a requirement to file that election with the Canada Revenue Agency;
(e) giving the Minister of National Revenue the discretionary authority to register a person for GST/HST purposes if the person fails to comply with the requirement to apply for registration, even after having been notified by the Canada Revenue Agency of that requirement; and
(f) improving the Canada Revenue Agency’s ability to provide feedback to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada.
Part 2 also implements other GST/HST measures by
(a) providing a GST/HST exemption for supplies of hospital parking for patients and visitors, clarifying that the GST/HST exemption for supplies of a property, when all or substantially all of the supplies of the property by a charity are made for free, does not apply to paid parking and clarifying that paid parking provided by charities that are set up or used by municipalities, universities, public colleges, schools and hospitals to operate their parking facilities does not qualify for the special GST/HST exemption for parking supplied by charities;
(b) clarifying that reports of international electronic funds transfers made to the Canada Revenue Agency may be used for the purposes of the administration of the GST/HST;
(c) making amendments relating to the introduction of the Offshore Tax Informant Program of the Canada Revenue Agency;
(d) permitting the disclosure of confidential GST/HST information to an appropriate police organization in certain circumstances if the information relates to a serious offence; and
(e) clarifying that a person cannot claim input tax credits in respect of an amount of GST/HST that has already been recovered by the person from a supplier.
Part 3 implements excise measures proposed in the February 11, 2014 budget by
(a) adjusting the domestic rate of excise duty on tobacco products to account for inflation and eliminating the preferential excise duty treatment of tobacco products available through duty free markets;
(b) ensuring that excise tax returns are filed accurately through the addition of a new administrative monetary penalty and an amended criminal offence for the making of false statements or omissions, consistent with similar provisions in the GST/HST portion of the Excise Tax Act; and
(c) improving the Canada Revenue Agency’s ability to provide feedback to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada.
Part 3 also implements other excise measures by
(a) permitting the disclosure of confidential information to an appropriate police organization in certain circumstances if the information relates to a serious offence; and
(b) making amendments relating to the introduction of the Offshore Tax Informant Program of the Canada Revenue Agency.
In addition, Part 3 amends the Air Travellers Security Charge Act, the Excise Act, 2001 and the Excise Tax Act to clarify that reports of international electronic funds transfers made to the Canada Revenue Agency may be used for the purposes of the administration of those Acts.
Part 4 amends the Customs Tariff. In particular, it
(a) reduces the Most-Favoured-Nation rates of duty and, if applicable, rates of duty under the other tariff treatments on tariff items related to mobile offshore drilling units used in oil and gas exploration and development that are imported on or after May 5, 2014;
(b) removes the exemption provided by tariff item 9809.00.00 and makes consequential amendments to tariff item 9833.00.00 to apply the same tariff rules to the Governor General that are applied to other public office holders; and
(c) clarifies the tariff classification of certain imported food products, effective November 29, 2013.
Part 5 enacts the Canada–United States Enhanced Tax Information Exchange Agreement Implementation Act and amends the Income Tax Act to introduce consequential information reporting requirements.
Part 6 enacts and amends several Acts in order to implement various measures.
Division 1 of Part 6 provides for payments to compensate for deductions in certain benefits and allowances that are payable under the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Act, the War Veterans Allowance Act and the Civilian War-related Benefits Act.
Division 2 of Part 6 amends the Bank of Canada Act and the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act to authorize the Bank of Canada to provide banking and custodial services to the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Division 3 of Part 6 amends the Hazardous Products Act to better regulate the sale and importation of hazardous products intended for use, handling or storage in a work place in Canada in accordance with the Regulatory Cooperation Council Joint Action Plan initiative for work place chemicals. In particular, the amendments implement the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals with respect to, among other things, labelling and safety data sheet requirements. It also provides for enhanced powers related to administration and enforcement. Finally, it makes amendments to the Canada Labour Code and the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act.
Division 4 of Part 6 amends the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act to authorize individuals to transport beer and spirits from one province to another for their personal consumption.
Division 5 of Part 6 amends the Judges Act to increase the number of judges of the Superior Court of Quebec and the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta.
Division 6 of Part 6 amends the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act to prohibit parliamentarians from contributing to their pension and accruing pensionable service as a result of a suspension.
Division 7 of Part 6 amends the National Defence Act to recognize the historic names of the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force while preserving the integration and the unification achieved under the Canadian Forces Reorganization Act and to provide that the designations of rank and the circumstances of their use are prescribed in regulations made by the Governor in Council.
Division 8 of Part 6 amends the Customs Act to extend to 90 days the time for making a request for a review of a seizure, ascertained forfeiture or penalty assessment and to provide that requests for a review and third-party claims can be made directly to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.
Division 9 of Part 6 amends the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Act to provide for the dissolution of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Board and to repeal the requirement for the President of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to submit a comprehensive report every five years on the Agency’s activities and on the impact those activities have had on regional disparity.
Division 10 of Part 6 dissolves the Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation and authorizes, among other things, the transfer of its assets and obligations, as well as those of its subsidiaries, to either the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency or Her Majesty in right of Canada as represented by the Minister of Public Works and Government Services. It also provides that the employees of the Corporation and its subsidiaries are deemed to have been appointed under the Public Service Employment Act and includes provisions related to their terms and conditions of employment. Furthermore, it amends the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Act to, among other things, confer on the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency the authority that is necessary for the administration, management, control and disposal of the assets and obligations transferred to the Agency. It also makes consequential amendments to other Acts and repeals the Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation Act.
Division 11 of Part 6 provides for the transfer of responsibility for the administration of the programs known as the “Online Works of Reference” and the “Virtual Museum of Canada” from the Minister of Canadian Heritage to the Canadian Museum of History.
Division 12 of Part 6 amends the Nordion and Theratronics Divestiture Authorization Act to remove certain restrictions on the acquisition of voting shares of Nordion.
Division 13 of Part 6 amends the Bank Act to add regulation-making powers respecting a bank’s activities in relation to derivatives and benchmarks.
Division 14 of Part 6 amends the Insurance Companies Act to broaden the Governor in Council’s authority to make regulations respecting the conversion of a mutual company into a company with common shares.
Division 15 of Part 6 amends the Motor Vehicle Safety Act to support the objectives of the Regulatory Cooperation Council to enhance the alignment of Canadian and U.S. regulations while protecting Canadians. It introduces measures to accelerate and streamline the regulatory process, reduce the administrative burden for manufacturers and importers and improve safety for Canadians through revised oversight procedures and enhanced availability of vehicle safety information.
The amendments to the Railway Safety Act and the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992 modernize the legislation by aligning it with the Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Management.
This Division also amends the Safe Food for Canadians Act to authorize the Governor in Council to make regulations respecting activities related to specified fresh fruits and vegetables, including requiring a person who engages in certain activities to be a member of a specified entity or organization. It also repeals the Board of Arbitration.
Division 16 of Part 6 amends the Telecommunications Act to set a maximum amount that a Canadian carrier can charge to another Canadian carrier for certain roaming services.
Division 17 of Part 6 amends the Canada Labour Code to allow employees to interrupt their compassionate care leave or leave related to their child’s critical illness, death or disappearance in order to take leave because of sickness or a work-related illness or injury. It also amends the Employment Insurance Act to facilitate access to sickness benefits for claimants who are in receipt of compassionate care benefits or benefits for parents of critically ill children.
Division 18 of Part 6 amends the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act to provide that fees fixed under that Act for the use of a facility provided by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency under the Safe Food for Canadians Act as well as fees fixed for services, products and rights and privileges provided by the Agency under that Act are exempt from the application of the User Fees Act.
Division 19 of Part 6 amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to, among other things, enhance the client identification, record keeping and registration requirements for financial institutions and intermediaries, refer to online casinos, and extend the application of the Act to persons and entities that deal in virtual currencies and foreign money services businesses. Furthermore, it makes modifications in regards to the information that the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada may receive, collect or disclose, and expands the circumstances in which the Centre or the Canada Border Services Agency can disclose information received or collected under the Act. It also updates the review and appeal provisions related to cross-border currency reporting and brings Part 1.1 of the Act into force.
Division 20 of Part 6 amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 2 to, among other things,
(a) require certain applications to be made electronically;
(b) provide for the making of regulations regarding the establishment of a system of administrative monetary penalties for the contravention of conditions applicable to employers hiring foreign workers;
(c) provide for the termination of certain applications for permanent residence in respect of which a decision as to whether the selection criteria are met is not made before February 11, 2014; and
(d) clarify and strengthen requirements related to the expression of interest regime.
Division 21 of Part 6 amends the Public Service Labour Relations Act to clarify that an adjudicator may grant systemic remedies when it has been determined that the employer has engaged in a discriminatory practice.
It also clarifies the transitional provisions in respect of essential services that were enacted by the Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 2.
Division 22 of Part 6 amends the Softwood Lumber Products Export Charge Act, 2006 to clarify how payments to provinces under section 99 of that Act are to be determined.
Division 23 of Part 6 amends the Budget Implementation Act, 2009 so that the aggregate amount of payments to provinces and territories for matters relating to the establishment of a Canadian securities regulation regime may be fixed through an appropriation Act.
Division 24 of Part 6 amends the Protection of Residential Mortgage or Hypothecary Insurance Act and the National Housing Act to provide that certain criteria established in a regulation may apply to an existing insured mortgage or hypothecary loan.
Division 25 of Part 6 amends the Trade-marks Act to, among other things, make that Act consistent with the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks and add the authority to make regulations for carrying into effect the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks. The amendments include the simplification of the requirements for obtaining a filing date in relation to an application for the registration of a trade-mark, the elimination of the requirement to declare use of a trade-mark before registration, the reduction of the term of registration of a trade-mark from 15 to 10 years, and the adoption of the classification established by the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks.
Division 26 of Part 6 amends the Trade-marks Act to repeal the power to appoint the Registrar of Trade-marks and to provide that the Registrar is the person appointed as Commissioner of Patents under subsection 4(1) of the Patent Act.
Division 27 of Part 6 amends the Old Age Security Act to prevent the payment of Old Age Security income-tested benefits for the entire period of a sponsorship undertaking by removing the current 10-year cap.
Division 28 of Part 6 enacts the New Bridge for the St. Lawrence Act, respecting the construction and operation of a new bridge in Montreal to replace the Champlain Bridge and the Nuns’ Island Bridge.
Division 29 of Part 6 enacts the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada Act, which establishes the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC) as a portion of the federal public administration. The ATSSC becomes the sole provider of resources and staff for 11 administrative tribunals and provides facilities and support services to those tribunals, including registry, administrative, research and analysis services. The Division also makes consequential amendments to the Acts establishing those tribunals and to other Acts related to those tribunals.
Division 30 of Part 6 enacts the Apprentice Loans Act, which provides for financial assistance for apprentices to help with the cost of their training. Under that Act, apprentices registered in eligible trades will be eligible for loans that will be interest-free until their training ends.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Votes

June 12, 2014 Passed That the Bill be now read a third time and do pass.
June 12, 2014 Failed That the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word "That" and substituting the following: “this House decline to give third reading to Bill C-31, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014 and other measures, because it: ( a) has not received adequate study or amendment by Parliament; ( b) cancels the hiring credit for small business ( c) raises costs for Canadian businesses through changes to trademark law that have been opposed by dozens of chambers of commerce, businesses and legal experts; ( d) hands over private financial information of hundreds of thousands of Canadians to the US Internal Revenue Service under Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act; ( e) undermines the independence of 11 federal administrative tribunals; and ( f) fails to fully compensate for years of unjust clawback to the benefits of Canada's disabled veterans.”.
June 9, 2014 Passed That Bill C-31, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014 and other measures, {as amended}, be concurred in at report stage [with a further amendment/with further amendments] .
June 9, 2014 Failed That Bill C-31 be amended by deleting Clause 376.
June 9, 2014 Failed That Bill C-31 be amended by deleting Clause 375.
June 9, 2014 Failed That Bill C-31 be amended by deleting Clause 371.
June 9, 2014 Failed That Bill C-31 be amended by deleting Clause 369.
June 9, 2014 Failed That Bill C-31 be amended by deleting Clause 317.
June 9, 2014 Failed That Bill C-31 be amended by deleting Clause 313.
June 9, 2014 Failed That Bill C-31 be amended by deleting Clause 308.
June 9, 2014 Failed That Bill C-31 be amended by deleting Clause 300.
June 9, 2014 Failed That Bill C-31 be amended by deleting Clause 223.
June 9, 2014 Failed That Bill C-31 be amended by deleting Clause 211.
June 9, 2014 Failed That Bill C-31 be amended by deleting Clause 206.
June 9, 2014 Failed That Bill C-31 be amended by deleting Clause 179.
June 9, 2014 Failed That Bill C-31 be amended by deleting Clause 175.
June 9, 2014 Failed That Bill C-31 be amended by deleting Clause 110.
June 9, 2014 Failed That Bill C-31 be amended by deleting Clause 28.
June 9, 2014 Failed That Bill C-31 be amended by deleting Clause 27.
June 9, 2014 Failed That Bill C-31 be amended by deleting the short title.
June 5, 2014 Passed That, in relation to Bill C-31, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014 and other measures, not more than five further hours shall be allotted to the consideration at report stage of the Bill and five hours shall be allotted to the consideration at third reading stage of the said Bill; and that, at the expiry of the five hours provided for the consideration at report stage and the five hours provided for the consideration at third reading stage of the said Bill, any proceedings before the House shall be interrupted, if required for the purpose of this Order, and in turn every question necessary for the disposal of the said stages of the Bill then under consideration shall be put forthwith and successively, without further debate or amendment.
April 8, 2014 Passed That the Bill be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Finance.
April 8, 2014 Failed That the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word “That” and substituting the following: “the House decline to give second reading to Bill C-31, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014 and other measures, because it: ( a) amends more than sixty Acts without adequate parliamentary debate and oversight; ( b) does nothing to create quality, good-paying jobs for Canadians and fails to extend the hiring credit for small business; ( c) fails to reverse devastating cuts to infrastructure and healthcare; ( d) hands over private financial information of hundreds of thousands of Canadians to the US Internal Revenue Service under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act; ( e) reduces transparency at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency; (f) imposes tolls on the Champlain Bridge; ( g) jeopardizes the independence of eleven federal administrative tribunals; and ( h) enables the government to weaken regulations affecting rail safety and the transport of dangerous goods without notifying the public.”.
April 3, 2014 Passed That, in relation to Bill C-31, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014 and other measures, not more than three further sitting days after the day on which this Order is adopted shall be allotted to the consideration at second reading stage of the Bill; and that, 15 minutes before the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders on the third day allotted to the consideration at second reading stage of the said Bill, any proceedings before the House shall be interrupted, if required for the purpose of this Order, and, in turn, every question necessary for the disposal of the said stage of the Bill shall be put forthwith and successively, without further debate or amendment.

Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

In our opinion, the content of clause 14 is not in line with the government's commitment to establish an effective and fair regulatory framework for the demutualization process.

I think the provisions that enable the government to bring certain matters before the courts illustrate a lack of seriousness. They also illustrate a lack of political will to establish a real framework and to protect the industry against private interests.

Once again, clause 14 of Bill C-31 does not take into account the need to modernize laws and procedures relative to subscription notes and, consequently, to subscribers' right to vote in the context of a demutualization process. This bill contains no information on the nature of mutual companies' assets and the way they should be used and allocated following a demutualization.

In addition, a witness representing the Canadian Association of Mutual Insurance Companies said that mutual companies' assets should be considered as the mutual insurance industry's collective assets. That's especially the case when a mutual insurance company goes bankrupt, as other mutual companies should handle any outstanding contracts.

We heard a number of witnesses discuss this. Several of my colleagues from this committee were there when we studied the issue of demutualization during a meeting entirely dedicated to that topic. The discussion was interesting because this is a very complex sector. During that study, some fairly informative facts were brought forward, especially when a typical case was discussed involving the Economical Mutual Insurance Company, which talked about some issues with demutualization.

The company currently has over one million insurance policies. However, only 943 individuals are mutual insurance policyholders. The company has a capitalization of about $1.3 billion. An attempt at demutualization had begun that would have enabled each of the mutual policyholders—so each of the 943 individuals—to obtain personal assets in the amount exceeding $1 million. What would have happened to regular policyholders? They would have been left high and dry.

In short, it is really important to think about the interest of all those mutual insurance companies' users. It is also important to ensure that those policyholders—not only mutual policyholders, but all policyholders—can have a say in the case of demutualization proposals.

Currently, the bill delegates far too much authority to the courts. It relieves the government of its responsibility to make a decision, despite the commitment the government has made. Finally, the legislation allows the courts and tribunals to determine what happens in the case of a demutualization, and that could put all the power in the hands of mutual policyholders.

So if mutual insurance companies or shareholders are driven by short-term profits, the mutual company itself is at risk. The company is also potentially at risk. In fact, the president of the Economical Mutual Insurance Company did not even conceal the fact that the company, or the mutual, planned to be absorbed by or to merge with another company and eventually disappear altogether.

Once again, individual policyholders ultimately suffer in a situation where mutual policyholders are interested in short-term profits.

I know that our amendments are somewhat similar to those moved by the Liberal Party. However, ours aim to integrate policy holders, either by ensuring that they are invited to general meetings where demutualization would be discussed, or by giving them a say should they participate in that general meeting.

I invite my colleagues to seriously consider the decision they will make during this vote because some fairly significant consequences will arise for thousands, if not millions, of individuals. I know that Mr. Van Kesteren, among others, has done business with a mutual insurance company in his riding.

Give this some serious thought because your vote will have a fairly considerable impact.

Thank you.

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

I call this meeting back to order.

This is meeting number 37 of the Standing Committee on Finance, continuing our consideration of Bill C-31, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014 and other measures.

We are dealing with clause-by-clause consideration. Colleagues, we are at division 12, Nordion and Theratronics Divestiture Authorization Act. This deals with clauses 206 to 209. We have an amendment with respect to clause 207.

Is there any discussion on clause 206?

(Clause 206 agreed to)

(On clause 207)

On clause 207 we have amendment NDP-15.

Mr. Cullen.

John McKay Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood, ON

Because they are related to each other. I'm under some disadvantage in that this is normally Mr. Brison's file. These are two amendments that we are basing upon the findings of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner for the wrongdoing of ECBC CEO John Lynn.

I'm just quoting from the report which says:

The investigation found that: Mr. Lynn committed a serious breach of ECBC’s Employment Conduct and Discipline Policy, which was ECBC’s own code of conduct at the time. This finding is as a result of the appointment of four individuals with ties to the Conservative Party of Canada or the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia into executive positions at ECBC with little or no documented justifications and without demonstrating that the appointments were merit-based.

The report also says:

There was an element of deliberateness to Mr. Lynn’s actions.... Mr. Lynn’s actions were incompatible with the trust that the Government of Canada and the public has placed in him as Chief Executive Officer.

There are two problems with Bill C-31 in light of the commissioner's wrongdoings. The two amendments seek to address these problems. Under clause 182, the individuals were improperly hired by Mr. Lynn. They are still at ECBC and have become permanent employees of the public service. Under clause 183, it singles out CEO Mr. Lynn as the only member of the board eligible for compensation or termination.

In quick summary, Mr. Chair, what we have is a serious breach of the ethical and hiring practices, yet there's a reward at the end, by turning these folks into permanent employees of the public service and giving Mr. Lynn a good payout.

The first amendment will ensure that an employee who was hired after June 1, which is when Mr. Lynn became a CEO, through a process that the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner considers to have been a wrongdoing, under paragraph 8(e) of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, would be excluded from the ECBC employees who have automatically become employees of the public service. It would prohibit them from becoming members of the public service.

The second amendment removes the exception of allowing the CEO, and only the CEO, to receive compensation on termination. It's not clear why the service decided to give the CEO the special treatment in the bill. Removing this is the only appropriate...given the report of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner's finding of wrongdoing.

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

Thank you.

My ruling is as follows. Bill C-31 seeks to amend the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Act by removing the requirement that a comprehensive report be submitted by the agency president to the responsible minister. The amendment aims to re-establish the requirement for a report, and that it be submitted to the minister every four years.

House of Commons Procedure and Practice, second edition, states on page 766, “An amendment to a bill that was referred to committee after second reading is out of order if it is beyond the scope and principle of the bill.” In the opinion of the chair, the amendment seeks to maintain the report requirement, which is contrary to the principle of the bill. Therefore, I rule the amendment inadmissible.

That deals with NDP-14.

Is there any discussion on clause 177?

Mr. Cullen.

Gerald Keddy Conservative South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS

But here's the difficulty. We have Bill C-31 that allowed for individuals' importation of intoxicating liquors across provincial borders. That was for the individual. It wasn't for a business entity. I think, really, this needs to be rethought, not brought in as an amendment but brought in as a private member's bill or an idea that committee could study at some other point, but not here.

John McKay Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood, ON

I'm at a bit of a disadvantage here because I'm not a regular member of this committee, but I've had copious notes prepared for me by my colleague, Mr. Brison.

His point is that we generally support this division; however, it does have one serious problem, which I'd be interested in your thoughts about. As the Canadian Consumer Specialty Products Association said in their brief:

As currently proposed, [Bill C-31] would require suppliers to ensure product was labelled in compliance with the Hazardous Products Act and its regulations prior to its importation. This requirement creates an unnecessary burden on suppliers....Allowing suppliers to import product for relabelling would be consistent with the provisions of other modernized regulations....It is not always practical or possible to label product in another country prior to importing it into Canada.

The recommended amendment, which is being put forward as amendment LIB-14, is that the amendment creates an exception for Canadian employers to import product for relabelling, which is consistent with the intent of the bill. It removes an unnecessarily onerous restriction that will place Canadian jobs at risk by making it difficult for some employers to do business in Canada. We hope that you'll agree with this proposal.

What are your thoughts?

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

Okay.

The ruling is that Bill C-31 establishes retroactively a period for which civilian war veterans allowance applicants and recipients will receive a compensation. The amendment seeks to expand this period.

House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Second Edition, states, on pages 767 and 768:

Since an amendment may not infringe upon the financial initiative of the Crown, it is inadmissible if it imposes a charge on a public treasury, or if it extends the objects or purposes or relaxes the conditions and qualifications specified in the royal recommendation.

In the opinion of the chair, the amendment, by modifying the period of admissibility, infringes on the conditions and qualifications specified in the royal recommendation. Therefore, the amendment is inadmissible. This applies to NDP-13 and to LIB-13.

I will then move to discussion on clause 105.

Mr. Cullen.

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

Thank you.

I will do my ruling.

Bill C-31 establishes retroactively a period for which war veterans allowance applicants and recipients will receive a compensation. This amendment seeks to expand this period.

House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Second Edition, states on pages 767 and 768:

Since an amendment may not infringe upon the financial initiative of the Crown, it is inadmissible if it imposes a charge on the public treasury, or if it extends the objects or purposes or relaxes the conditions and qualifications specified in the royal recommendation.

In the opinion of the chair, the amendment, by modifying the period of admissibility, infringes on the conditions and qualifications specified in the royal recommendation. Therefore, the amendment is inadmissible, and this applies to NDP-12 and LIB-12.

Therefore, I will go to discussion on clause 104. I will start with Mr. Cullen.

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

Thank you, Mr. Cullen.

My ruling is that Bill C-31 establishes retroactively a period for which Canadian Forces income support applicants and recipients will receive compensation. These amendments seek to expand this period.

House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Second Edition, states on pages 767 and 768:

Since an amendment may not infringe upon the financial initiative of the Crown, it is inadmissible if it imposes a charge on the public treasury, or if it extends the objects or purposes or relaxes the conditions and qualifications specified in the royal recommendation.

In the opinion of the chair, this amendment, by modifying the period of admissibility infringes on the conditions and qualifications specified in the royal recommendation. Therefore, I rule the amendment inadmissible. That applies to NDP-11 and LIB-11.

Therefore, I'll move to discussion on clause 103.

Do you have a question, Mr. Cullen?

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

Very specifically—and I appreciate the ruling, Chair—this is the machination of what we have here, which is an omnibus bill. Within the omnibus bill is an attempted correction of an injustice, as I think all of us around the House agree, whereby a clawback through the ELB was inflicted upon veterans who are suffering from various injuries, such as PTSD or other physical injuries, and only through a very expensive court case was the government forced to acknowledge this at all.

I'm going to quote Sean Bruyea, who appeared before this committee and testified on this very thing. Allow me, Chair—and I'll stop at this—to quote Sean Bruyea, retired captain:

Justice, or the appearance of justice being done, is plainly not being offered in Bill C-31. Should you pass the legislation as is, you will force the most disabled veterans under the flagship Conservative veterans benefit program known as the new Veterans Charter to enter the paralytic morass of years of unnecessary and bitter legal battles. These battles will sap the health, the family stability, and the dignity of military veterans and their families.

The fact that we have full awareness of what it is we're doing, which is inciting yet another round of litigation that is incredibly expensive and incredibly tiresome to the veterans who have already suffered once.... To re-victimize those veterans for the sake of what was offered only as a policy decision and to not allow this clawback to go back to the first moment when it started, which was 2006, is simply beyond me as a Canadian. I don't understand how we can talk about a Veterans Charter and respecting our troops.... If the government seeks to take a bow for this one because it was in their kindness that they offered to return this clawback, I fail to see many veterans celebrating it across the board.

Thank you, Chair.

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

Thank you, Mr. Cullen.

I have a ruling on amendment NDP-10 that applies to LIB-10 as well.

Bill C-31 establishes retroactively a period for which earnings loss benefit applicants and recipients will receive a compensation. The amendment seeks to expand this period. As House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Second Edition, states on pages 767 and 768:

Since an amendment may not infringe upon the financial initiative of the Crown, it is inadmissible if it imposes a charge on the public treasury, or if it extends the objects or purposes or relaxes the conditions and qualifications specified in the royal recommendation.

In the opinion of the chair, therefore, the amendment, by modifying the period of admissibility, infringes on the conditions and qualifications specified in the royal recommendation. The amendment is therefore ruled inadmissible.

That applies to amendments NDP-10 and LIB-10.

We will move to discussion on clause 102.

I will take speakers for clause 102. I'll start with Mr. Cullen.

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

I call this meeting back to order. It is meeting number 37 of the Standing Committee on Finance, dealing with clause-by-clause discussions of Bill C-31, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014 and other measures.

Colleagues, we are starting with part 6. We will proceed division by division. The first division, division 1, is payments for Veterans Affairs, which deals with clauses 102 to 107.

We have Mr. Butler here for any questions from members. I again want to welcome Mr. Butler back to the committee.

(On clause 102—Earnings Loss Benefit)

Under clause 102, we have amendments NDP-10 and LIB-10, and I will just highlight to the member that the chair will have a ruling on NDP-10 that will apply to both.

I would ask Mr. Cullen to move NDP-10.

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

I call this meeting to order. This is meeting 39 of the Standing Committee on Finance. We are televised, colleagues. Pursuant to the order of reference of Tuesday, April 8, 2014, we are continuing our clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-31, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014 and other measures.

We are dealing with part 5. As you know, we dealt with parts 1 to 4 at Tuesday's meeting. Part 5 deals with the Canada-U.S.A. enhanced tax information exchange agreement implementation act.

We have with us two officials from the Department of Finance, Mr. Ted Cook and Mr. Brian Ernewein, whom colleagues on the committee know very well. Thank you for being with us.

(On clause 99—Enactment)

We will start with clause 99. I'll just indicate, as your agenda shows, that we have an awful lot of amendments pertaining to this clause, so I suspect there'll be quite a debate on this.

We are going to start with amendment NDP-6, and I will just identify that if NDP-6 is moved, LIB-2 cannot be proceeded with, as they are identical. Obviously that deals with LIB-2.

If LIB-3 is adopted, Green Party amendment PV-1 cannot be moved, line conflict, nor NDP-7, as it's consequential. Also, if Green Party PV-1 is adopted, NDP-7 cannot be proceeded with.

We have all of these amendments. We'll start with the NDP. It's up to members, but sometimes they wish to group their amendments, or sometimes they wish to speak individually to each amendment. I'll leave that up to the respective members and parties themselves.

I will start with NDP-6, and I'll go to Mr. Rankin, please.

Business of the HouseGovernment Orders

May 29th, 2014 / 3:25 p.m.


See context

York—Simcoe Ontario

Conservative

Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, first let me start by acknowledging the support shown on Tuesday night for our motion to have the House work hard for all Canadians to ensure that we have a productive, hard-working, and orderly House of Commons. It was not just this side of the House that voted for this ambitious plan to let MPs reach decisions on many important issues, and I want to thank the Liberal Party for agreeing to join Conservatives in rolling up their sleeves this spring.

I know my hon. friend has a different definition of what our work is here in the House of Commons. He believes that our work here is to filibuster and fill every moment possible with as many speeches as possible to avoid decisions being made. I have encountered one or two Canadians who think the problem with politicians is too much talk and not enough action. Now we know where they get that impression.

On this side of the House, we are committed to action, we are committed to delivering results, and we are committed to decisions being made and to people participating in votes and making decisions on behalf of their constituents at home. That is why we need debates to also come to a conclusion so we can make those decisions and so we can have those votes.

Last night, for example, we had a great debate on Bill C-24, the strengthening Canadian citizenship act. That is our government taking steps to modernize the Citizenship Act for the first time in some 35 years. What is even better, we just had a vote and a decision. Every single member, not just a dozen or so who might have spoken for a few hours but every single member of this House, got to have a say on behalf of his or her constituents and got to make a decision and advance a bill through the legislation process. That is what it is really all about.

Earlier this week, on Tuesday morning—before we adopted the government's ambitious work plan—a number of New Democrats expressed their support for Bill C-17, Vanessa's law. However, they did not walk that talk.

The honourable member for Chambly—Borduas said, “we do recognize the urgency [of this matter]”. Nevertheless, seven other New Democrats then got up after him to block this bill from going to committee. Among them was their deputy leader who said, “I also hope that the bill will go to committee quickly...”.

I wish that the New Democrats listened to their deputy leader. It would be disappointing to think that the NDP might be using Vanessa's law as a political hostage by filibustering it as a means to avoid debating other bills.

I would not want to ascribe such cynical motives to the House leader of the official opposition, and I trust this is not a preview of how he wishes to approach the business of the House for the forthcoming three weeks, when Canadians actually expect us to accomplish things for them.

Looking forward to these three weeks to come, I am pleased to review the business the government will call in the coming days.

This afternoon, we will carry on with the second reading debate on Bill C-22, the energy safety and security act. Once that has concluded, we will take up Bill C-6, the prohibiting cluster munitions act, at report stage. If time permits, we will get back to third reading and passage of Bill C-3, the safeguarding Canada's seas and skies act.

Bill C-10, the tackling contraband tobacco act, will be considered tomorrow at report stage and hopefully at third reading as well.

After the weekend, we will consider Bill C-20, which would implement our free trade agreement with the Republic of Honduras, at report stage.

Following Monday's question period, we will consider Bill C-27, the veterans hiring act, at second reading. That will be followed by second reading of Bill C-26, the tougher penalties for child predators act.

On Tuesday morning, we will start second reading debate on Bill C-35, the justice for animals in service act. The hon. member for Richmond Hill spoke a couple of nights ago about this wonderful bill, Quanto's law, which will have a chance to be considered, thanks to having additional debate time in the House. Since I cannot imagine New Democrats opposing this bill, the only question is how many speeches will they give supporting it, and of course, how will giving more speeches make this bill become law sooner.

Following question period, we will resume debate on Bill C-20, on Canada-Honduras free trade, as well as Bill C-17, the protecting Canadians from unsafe drugs act, which I discussed earlier, Bill C-32, the victims bill of rights act, and Bill C-18, the agricultural growth act.

On Wednesday, we will start the second reading debate on Bill C-21, Red Tape Reduction Act. After private members' hour, we will begin report stage of Bill C-31, Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1, which underwent clause-by-clause study at the Standing Committee on Finance this week.

A week from today, on Thursday next, we will continue debating our budget implementation bill. Ideally, I would also like to see us finish third reading of the bill on the free trade agreement between Canada and the Republic of the Honduras that day.

Finally, any remaining time available to us that evening will be spent on the bills on which the NDP will be able to offer more, remarkably similar speeches confirming, time after time, their support. Although I appreciate their supportive attitude towards many parts of our government's legislative agenda, it would be great if they would let all members of Parliament have their say, in an ultimate expression of democracy and to help us move from mere words to actual deeds, so that all of us can tell our constituents that we have actually accomplished something on their behalf.

Canada-U.S. RelationsAdjournment Proceedings

May 29th, 2014 / 12:15 a.m.


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Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, I rise in adjournment proceedings to pursue a matter that I raised in question period on March 3. It is appropriate, although the hour is late or one might say it is early morning of May 29; it is the day on which the subject matter of my question will be going through clause by clause before the finance committee. The subject of my question is a very significant and dangerous piece of legislation buried in the current omnibus bill, Bill C-31.

The question that I asked is somewhat poignant. I will share with members that when I went back and read the text of the question, I realized that this was the last time in question period that I put a question for former minister of finance Jim Flaherty, our late and dear colleague. As much as I was very fond of Jim, as I read the answer I realized that the reason I put in a slip to pursue it in adjournment proceedings was that I did not actually get an answer.

As I say, it is poignant and bittersweet to pursue in adjournment proceedings at 12:15 a.m. the matter of the constitutionality of something that many Canadians have probably never heard of: the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, otherwise called FATCA, which is buried in Bill C-31, the current omnibus budget bill.

What this Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act does is this. We know that sometimes we call the United States “Uncle Sam”. In this instance, Canada bent over until we said “uncle”, and that is on the matter of the U.S. doing something quite extraordinary. It has passed a domestic law and insisted that the rest of the world bow down and allow a U.S. law to apply extraterritorially all around the world.

As a former U.S. citizen myself, I find it ironic. When my family first moved to Canada, it was very clear that going to Canada and becoming Canadian citizens was something to which the U.S. government said, “Okay, forget it now; you cannot come back here and pretend you are Americans. We know you are Canadian now; no coming back here”. The laws were very clear that we were not U.S. citizens anymore. That was fine with me, because I was Canadian and that was all I wanted to be.

Now that the U.S. seems to find itself a little short of money, it is almost like people going around and trying to lift up the sofa cushions and reach for loose change under the seats where they had not looked before, in case they might find some money. Maybe a more appropriate visible image is of grabbing people who have any connection to the United States by their ankles and shaking them upside down to see if any loose coins fall out of their pockets.

The reality of this is that we have, under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, acceded to the United States as if we were subject to a binding treaty with it, something called the “intergovernmental agreement”. In point of fact, the U.S. Congress has not ratified this so-called treaty, so it should not be binding on Canada at all. On top of this, we know that no less a constitutional expert than Peter Hogg has advised the Government of Canada in his letter, which I obtained through access to information, that the provisions under this act “...are discriminatory in a way that would not withstand Charter scrutiny”.

In other words, we are being forced through an omnibus procedure and into committee tomorrow at clause by clause, and unless my amendments are accepted, we will once again have passed a piece of legislation that is discriminatory, treating Canadians of different classes in different ways, which offends section 15 of the Charter. We will have done that to accede to something that is not even accepted by the United States as a treaty, because it has not ratified it.

There is a solution to this, and this solution has come from many legal experts. We should remove this from Bill C-31.