Bill S-217

Fairness for All Canadian Taxpayers Act (measuring the tax gap to fight international tax evasion)

An Act to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act (reporting on unpaid income tax)

This enactment amends the Canada Revenue Agency Act to require the Canada Revenue Agency to list all convictions for tax evasion — including international tax evasion — in the annual report it submits to the Minister of National Revenue. It also requires the Agency, once every three years, to include statistics on the tax gap in the annual report. In addition, this enactment specifies that the Minister is to provide the Parliamentary Budget Officer with data on the tax gap.

Canada Revenue Agency Act

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

moved that Bill S-217, An Act to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act (reporting on unpaid income tax), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Mr. Speaker, it is an absolute pleasure to rise in this chamber again to speak on a very important issue to Canadians.

Before I start, I want to pay tribute to a local individual, Mr. Dan Newman, who recently passed away. He was a two-time elected member of the provincial parliament and cabinet minister in the Ontario legislature from 1995 and re-elected in 1999. Dan was a dear friend of mine, a dear friend to many in the community, a quick wit and a wonderful individual. I would like to give his family my sincere condolences on behalf of all those in Simcoe North. I am sure they miss him deeply after his very unexpected passing. Thank you for your indulgence, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, given that you seem to be in a giving mood tonight, I also wish my brother and my good friend Stephen Graham happy belated birthday, to give them a tribute in this speech.

Just crossing the desk, I want to make sure the House is fully aware that the Prime Minister was in New York today, and he said that a strong Canada would “help make America great again”. I did not have it on my bingo card that the Prime Minister would be embracing MAGA principles, but I seem to always be amazed by the opportunism of the Prime Minister.

Getting back to the issue at hand, it is an important bill that we are debating here tonight. I would like to start by thanking the House again for its co-operation on another bill, which I think is adjacent to this one, Bill C-230, which we passed here unanimously just a few weeks ago. This bill, Bill S-217, is basically identical to the bill by Senator Percy Downe that passed in the Senate three times. Senator Downe stands as an example to all parliamentarians that, with persistence and good-natured collaboration and engagement, good ideas have a real chance of becoming law in this country.

Senator Downe has been talking about the issues of tax evasion and the efficacy of the CRA in carrying out its primary objective of collecting the tax monies that are owed to the federal government. He has been highlighting these issues for many years and raising concerns about the actions of the CRA in pursuing individuals who participate in overseas tax evasion, which is evading taxes paid in Canada by using overseas tax havens.

Members will recall the Panama papers, a very well-publicized, international exposé by journalists, who later had their lives threatened and in fact had violence perpetrated against them. The Panama papers identified a number of Canadians who had assets hidden away in overseas tax havens. To date, there have been no Canadians convicted of overseas tax evasion from the Panama papers. This is one of the reasons for which Senator Downe has brought forward this legislation.

The legislation, in my mind, does a few key things. Number one, it would require greater transparency at the CRA to publish the list of individuals who are convicted of tax evasion. Number two, which is also a serious issue that we have dealt with many times in this chamber and in the government as a whole, is the ability of the Parliamentary Budget Officer to receive relevant data and information from the Canada Revenue Agency. This bill would require the Canada Revenue Agency to produce data and information and make that available to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, so the Parliamentary Budget Officer could complete independent analysis on the tax gap.

“What is the tax gap?” one might ask. The tax gap is an assessment of what the CRA believes it is owed on an annual basis by taxpayers, corporations and individuals, versus what it is actually able to receive: that is, what taxes are assessed and what taxes are collected.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer should be doing an independent analysis of this tax gap. The bill would also require the CRA to produce its own estimation of the tax gap so that it can be viewed by parliamentarians. This is consistent with best practices in other jurisdictions around the world.

These are the three main points of the bill.

I have to commend Senator Downe for a number of things, such as his leadership in making sure that these issues are not forgotten from Parliament to Parliament. Senator Downe has passed this bill three times in its basic exact form over previous Parliaments. This is the third time the bill is coming to this chamber.

I am on the record suggesting that the current majority status of this Parliament is a disadvantage to Canadians because that was not the result of the last election at the ballot box. However, if there is a silver lining to the majority status of this Parliament, and the fact that we may be here for a little while longer, it is that it will give the House the opportunity to properly consider, review and potentially amend this bill and to make it law, because it has been sent here three times and the House has been unable to make it law.

We owe Senator Downe this effort because of his persistence and leadership on this issue. He has convinced his colleagues in the Senate three times that the bill ought to become law. I think all members in this chamber should be willing to work together to examine this bill at committee. I was very proud to put my name on the bill in this chamber for a number of reasons, but also because Senator Downe has worked very closely with me on some of my private member's bills, one on money laundering in the last Parliament and, yet again, in this Parliament with Bill C-230, which, as I mentioned, passed here unanimously a couple of weeks ago and which is complementary to this bill in so many ways.

I would like to just talk a little about the bill in the words of Senator Downe. When taxpayers cheat, the rest of Canadians make up the shortfall. Taxes rise to cover the balance. The government is forced to take on more debt. Debt service payments increase, and the debt gets paid forward to the next generation. Enforcing compliance with Canada's tax laws and collecting monies owed to government is a core mandate of the CRA, but how well is the CRA fulfilling its responsibilities? Consider overseas tax evasion. Story after story follows the same pattern. A news story will break, and the CRA appears with its regular talking points: They are working hard to catch overseas tax evaders; they take it seriously; they have identified monies that are owed to the government; the work is ongoing to collect those monies. However, the results are ultimately disappointing.

I mentioned previously the 2016 Panama papers, the disclosures of overseas tax evasion. Other countries with citizens involved in this scandal have collected billions of dollars in taxes owed. A recent article by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the journalists who broke the story, lists Australia as having recovered $44 million; Germany, $87 million; and Spain, $175 million. Iceland, a country of just 340,000, recovered $25 million.

Canada, however, after 10 years, has not announced the recovery of a nickel. Approximately 900 Canadians were identified as having accounts linked to the Panama papers. Not one person has been charged, much less convicted of this tax evasion, a stark contrast to what has happened in other countries.

The fairness for all Canadian taxpayers act, introduced by Senator Downe, would require the government, as I mentioned before, to disclose these convictions of tax evasion, to publish the estimates for the tax gap and then to make sure that the Parliamentary Budget Officer can complete independent analysis of the tax gap for the benefit of all members in the House.

Canada lags behind other countries that measure their tax gap and provide the public with more transparency and more information. The bill would certainly help legislators in this place and in the Senate make better laws to ensure that the CRA has the tools to carry out its core mandate effectively. I have to mention that, while Canadians may be frustrated with the Canada Revenue Agency's performance over the last number of years, there are a number of fantastic people who work there and work very hard. I believe that they deserve a level of sympathy, because the government has been asking the CRA to do more and more activities that are outside of its core mandate.

The government has asked the CRA to administer new benefit programs. It has asked the CRA to introduce and administer new tax reporting structures that are incredibly complicated. In one case, the CRA was to implement bare trust reporting rules that everyone knew were complicated. People spent hundreds of millions of dollars in total in complying with this new reporting requirement, only to have the government, a political actor, reverse the decision about submitting this paperwork at the last second, on the day the paperwork was due. Hundreds of thousands of taxpayers incurred, in some cases, multiple-thousand-dollar tax bills to send information to the CRA, only to have the CRA say that it was too complicated and that it did not need that information right now.

These are the operational decisions that the government has unfairly placed on the CRA, in my opinion.

I believe that there are wonderful agents at the CRA who work hard and try to collect the money owing to government, but I believe, and I concur with my friend in the Senate, that Canadians deserve greater transparency on those who are convicted of tax evasion. I think we should make sure that the Parliamentary Budget Officer has access to the information it needs to conduct independent analysis of the tax gap.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that, following my speech, I will be joined by the member for Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, who is a wonderful mentor of mine and a person from whom I have learned a great deal in this place about how he carries himself, how to collaborate and how to make sure that one is standing up for their constituents and their principles with vigour, as well as with integrity.

I look forward very much to his speech and thank him for his support on this bill and on my bill, Bill C-230, which, as I mentioned, I was pleased to see make it through this chamber.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I am wondering if the member can provide his thoughts in regard to the issue of privacy. I know a part of the legislation would ultimately see reports going to our PBO, the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Does the member have any concerns at all in regard to privacy? Can he expand on that issue?

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my friend from Winnipeg North quite rightly points out a potential concern with privacy. I would say two things.

The first is that I think any data provided to the Parliamentary Budget Officer could be appropriately anonymized such that it would be impossible to identify any taxpayer, whether that is a corporate or individual taxpayer. We should judiciously protect the privacy rights of Canadians. However, with respect to the information that would be required to be publicly disclosed by the government, it would be about individuals who have been convicted of tax evasion in Canada. Those individuals, if they have been convicted, have been convicted in a court of law and do not deserve any privacy rights, in my opinion.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I think this is a very worthwhile bill. My colleague will be pleased to hear that the Bloc Québécois is prepared to support this bill and carefully examine it in committee.

I have a question for him. In his speech, he talked about tax evasion, which is addressed in the bill. He also talked about tax avoidance and how businesses are able to avoid paying taxes by using tax havens. However, as far as I know, the bill does not address that issue.

Does he not think that the scope of his bill should be expanded to include tax avoidance? It is not fair that businesses are not paying their fair share.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that was an excellent question. I am certainly pleased to hear that the Bloc is open to supporting the bill's being studied at committee. He put his finger on an interesting point with respect to companies that are avoiding taxes. I think that is partially what the bill is trying to get at, with respect to measuring the tax gap. That is to say, what does the government believe is owed to the government, i.e., what does the CRA believe is owed versus what they are able to collect? I do think that is a portion of tax avoidance.

In my view, we could study this a bit more at committee, but I think that is one of the things this bill is trying to get at, with respect to companies that avoid paying the taxes they owe.

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to build on the two questions my hon. colleague was already asked, because in my opinion, when people are breaking the law or they are avoiding taxes, it is all about transparency and accountability.

In particular, I want to ask him what he thinks the end result will be. Will this help and potentially enable additional changes to our tax laws and our Criminal Code? As he talked about in his speech, unfortunately, Canada has a bad track record of not collecting any of the money that has not been properly paid to the government coffers.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my wonderful friend asked his question in English, although he does speak French. I just heard him in this chamber speaking French. He tried it out quite well. Maybe he was auditioning.

I think he is right about two things: We need more transparency, and we need more accountability. If parliamentarians and the broader Canadian public have this information, we can help the CRA refocus its efforts on its core mandate, which is to collect the money that is owed and go after tax evaders.

If we are lagging behind other countries in finding, prosecuting and convicting tax evaders, ensuring that we have transparency about that process will help us deliver better laws and maybe better tools to the CRA so that it can carry out its core mandate.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I want to start off with what my colleague across the way started his comments with. He made reference to the Prime Minister's going down to the United States. I think that a vast majority of Canadians see that we have a Prime Minister today who is in this for the long haul. He recognizes the importance of international trade and relationships. He was not only meeting with the President of the United States; in my understanding, the luncheon that the member across the way referred to was with 200 of the United States' top business people, individuals who control hundreds of millions, going into billions, of dollars.

In that speech, the Prime Minister did not just say, “We are just going to make America strong.” He prefaced it with some very important words. He indicated to this group that a stronger, more independent Canada, in a selective way, could help make America great again. Now, at the end of the day, does the member disagree with the idea that a healthier and stronger Canada would contribute to a healthier and stronger United States? That is what a trade agreement is all about, and the actions that this Prime Minister and this government have taken to date reinforce that.

We just went through a full day of debate on a Conservative motion in which the Conservatives are capitulating on our arts industry. They are saying that we can no longer defend the arts community; rather, we should just concede it. It is important to recognize that, when we talk about the issue of tax fairness, we have to factor in that we are in the midst of negotiations.

The member himself talked about the importance of having a stronger and healthier economy. Part of that means having a tax system that is fair, that has transparency and that has accountability. In budget 2025, members will see a number of measures that would allow for more tax fairness. There are a number of proposed changes to ensure that we are moving forward regarding the issue of tax fairness. It is interesting that my Conservative friends are voting against that, or at least they are voting against the budget.

However, I have some good news. Bill S-217 has been a very important issue for the Senate, particularly Senator Percy Downe. It has been an issue for him for many years. I believe it has been over 10 years that he has been working on this particular issue that we have before us today. We have a government that recognizes a number of principles within the legislation that could, in fact, make a positive difference. Therefore, when we look at the legislation, we see a number of actions that are being taken. We can talk about the convictions, that all convictions for tax evasions, including international tax evasions, would be listed and produced in the annual report from Canada Revenue Agency to the minister. There is a great deal of merit in that.

We also recognize the issue of the tax gap. It is important that we all recognize what the tax gap is. One of the answers the member gave was interesting. My understanding of the tax gap is, in theory, if everyone paid their taxes, there is a total amount that the government would have a very good sense of.

In reality, we are not going to achieve that total. I think it is fair to say that a vast majority of taxpayers pay their fair share of taxes in a timely fashion. We all know that CRA has a process to encourage people who have not paid their taxes in a timely fashion to do so. There is some merit in dealing with that issue in whatever way we can.

What I liked about his comments, because I think the member was right, was when he talked about the civil servants, or our CRA employees. They are doing an outstanding job for all Canadians. They have been called upon at different times, whether it was during the pandemic or for new programs outside of the pandemic, to step up to the plate. They have done that.

This is where I disagree with the member for Simcoe North. I believe that the CRA needs to be able to continue to support Canadians in different ways at times. I think of, for example, the disability program the government introduced just a couple of years ago, finally recognizing the importance of disabilities. I think of the tax breaks that would have been given during the pandemic, and ultimately payments that were very much relied on in terms of how much people were making. The CRA is the natural spot to go to. The employees, as I have indicated, have done an absolutely outstanding job administering the services Canadians need.

We all believe, I would like to think, that taxation is an important public policy. It is what gives us the opportunity to provide the type of social programming we are able to do. As I indicated, a vast majority of individuals and businesses pay their taxes in a timely fashion. At the end of the day, the CRA does go after those who do not.

Like Senator Downe, I too am concerned about the tax gap. However, I do believe, in looking at the legislation and in listening to the member who took up Senator Downe's cause, that this ultimately does need to go to committee. There is a great deal of merit to see this legislation pass second reading, with the idea that we would be able to get some amendments brought forward and allow for input from different stakeholders on the issue.

It is not the first time we have the government recognizing the merit of legislation in private members' business. As long as there is a willingness to look at amendments that would give it strength, deal with issues such as privacy and ensure we would not be diminishing anything that the CRA or the minister are currently doing, I think the legislation is a great opportunity.

I would like to thank Senator Percy Downe for the work that he has done to date, ultimately making sure that we have the legislation before us.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to this bill today, because I think it is a good one and my party agrees. I announced in my question that we will be supporting this bill at second reading so that we can carefully study it in committee.

This bill is important because it deals with the effective recovery of monies as well as with transparency. I think transparency is essential and that is what I will be focusing my comments on today: transparency and access to information. We cannot call for improvements, suggest solutions or explore new options if we do not know what is happening. That is the crux of the issue.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer made it quite clear that he approved of the previous versions of this bill. This is not the first time that this legislation has come before the House.

I was pleased to hear the parliamentary secretary say that the government is going to support the bill at second reading. That means we will be able to study it. I was pleased because, when I read up on the bill's history earlier, I learned that the majority Liberal Party at the time had rejected one of the initial versions of the bill, citing privacy reasons. It is always easy for the government to find excuses when it does not want to be completely open about something, when it does not want to be transparent and especially when it does not want an agency's underperformance to be on full display.

However, the government needs to have that courage. Until it finds it, there will be no improvement.

I was therefore worried about the position of this new majority government, which does not reflect the results of the last election. We will repeat this again from time to time. The reality is that they have a majority because members crossed the floor. We must accept that.

That said, I would go even further. The bill states that the tax gap must be published. The tax gap is the money the government believes it should have collected but did not. What income taxes and other amounts should have been collected, and what was actually received? If the figures do not add up, people may lose patience, but everything hinges on knowing the truth and on the public putting pressure on the government.

I believe this bill will help the general public, but it will help opposition MPs more so. It will help us force the government to be more effective in collecting this money. I would also include in this any agreements that may have been reached between the CRA and businesses regarding debt write-offs, relief measures or equity proposals aimed at waiving interest, fees or penalties, because I believe the public deserves to know.

The average worker who earns, say, $45,000 a year, made a mistake on their tax return and has to pay the money back with interest might well be interested to learn that millions of dollars have been forgiven for businesses.

It might also be interesting to know that the Prime Minister's companies are engaging in tax avoidance, which is unfortunately legal. That is why I asked my colleagues a question earlier, because they seemed to be saying that certain information would be published. That would be great.

However, from what I understand, what will be published mainly concerns tax evasion, that is, cases where people have been found guilty of tax offences. This is too bad, but when someone is found guilty of an offence, their right to privacy disappears a bit. We are talking about transparency. It is important not to go too far. However, it is a bit like when someone is convicted of a criminal offence in court. Unfortunately for them, it is public.

At a certain point, privacy can become an excuse in many of these cases. I would go further and also look at tax avoidance.

Canada has a lot of experience with that.

One need only think of Canadian Steamship Lines, which belonged to the family of Paul Martin, our former prime minister. Since then, we have gained some historical hindsight. Today, it is Brookfield that we often hear about, but we know very little about it. It would be interesting to know how much money has been transferred to tax havens to avoid paying a fair share.

Earlier, my colleague, who introduced the bill and sponsored it for the senator who introduced it, explained in his speech that when a person or a company does not pay their share, it goes beyond their failure to pay. Other people, meaning us, have to pick up the slack and make up the difference. There is the guy who declared everything and is paying his share, and there is the guy next door, who is dishonest, who is hiding money and who is not paying what he owes. If he gets caught and we manage to recover the money, and if it is all out in the open to a certain extent, I would say that no harm is done, because it could encourage him not to do it again. I am not sure that if a member of Parliament were to engage in tax avoidance or tax evasion, it would remain secret for very long. Why would that not apply to everyone? Let us treat everyone equally. We stand in solidarity. That is important.

I want to quickly come back to tax havens. I know that they are not addressed in the bill, but they should be. I do not know whether we will be able to go so far as to include tax evasion within the scope of the bill, but I think we should.

In 2024, Canada passed legislation to impose a minimum tax rate of 15% on companies that generate and declare their profits abroad before repatriating them here. I hope that law will be enforced. We are still waiting to see the results. Will that law be fully enforced? Will it be effective? Only time will tell. We need to see the numbers to know for sure. To get those numbers, I think a bill like Bill S-217 is a very useful tool. That is basically what I wanted to say.

Pressure needs to be exerted and the money owed must be recovered. Some say it is owed to the government, but that is not entirely accurate. Yes, the government acts as an intermediary, but that money is owed to society. It is owed to the community. Society needs things like public services, resources, a defence system and all kinds of things, but they all cost money. We are not living in a fairytale. These things do not appear out of thin air. They have to be purchased. If some folks do not have the integrity to do their part, I think it is okay to give them a little nudge and tell them they also have to do their bit. If there is a risk that their name will get out when they get caught, that could help encourage many of these folks to do the right thing. That argument therefore seems pretty weak.

There is also the question of what has been recovered, based on the historical figures we have. I have some figures here. Between 2014 and 2022, the gross tax gap was $59.5 billion, and approximately $10.8 billion of that is said to have been recovered from personal income tax. On the corporate side, out of $23.5 billion, $9.3 billion is said to have been recovered. That is not bad, but it is not huge either. The government could certainly do better. By sharing this information, by making it publicly available, we will be better able to take action and come up with more innovative ideas. The Canada Revenue Agency will be able to improve, and everyone will benefit.

To conclude, I want to reiterate that we must also urgently tackle tax havens. It is a serious injustice that companies protect their profits abroad. They claim that it is not tax avoidance. During the election campaign, the Prime Minister had the nerve to tell us that it is not tax avoidance because this money flows back to individuals through pension funds. Individuals, for their part, pay tax. The message we are getting is that the little people have to pay and the rich will not. This is a social injustice, and a serious one at that. It is a very dangerous message.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to participate in this debate on Bill S‑217.

I am very pleased to see that the Bloc Québécois and the governing party are in agreement on this bill.

Of course, we are the ones introducing it through the member for Simcoe North. This is not the first time that Bill S-217, an act to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act with regard to reporting on unpaid income tax, has been before this House.

Essentially, the purpose of this bill is to put more pressure on the CRA to track down the scoundrels who do not pay their taxes, especially those known as “white-collar criminals”, in other words, individuals or companies who refuse to pay taxes or who use loopholes and cook the books to avoid paying their taxes. We need to get to the bottom of things, and this bill does just that.

Some may be surprised that this is the third time this bill has been introduced and debated in the House, even though it is a no-brainer. As my Bloc Québécois colleague said earlier, the first time was under a majority government; the Liberals rejected it. That is part of public debate. There was then a sequence of three elections with minority governments. That meant there was not enough time to do the work properly. As a parliamentarian, I find that unfortunate, but let us remember that, from December 2024 to mid-December 2024 and then to mid-September 2025, over a nine-month period, the House sat for only five weeks. This was because of the change in government, the new Prime Minister's government, the elections and the summer recess. All of this prevented us from doing our parliamentary work.

Now, we are doing it, and we are going to do it right.

I will put on my glasses. I am going to do so often, because this whole subject is so technical that we need to get our facts straight.

This bill has three objectives: to compile a list of all convictions for tax evasion, including international tax evasion; to require the CRA to include statistics on the tax gap in its annual reports every three years; and to require the minister to provide the Parliamentary Budget Officer with data on the tax gap.

These three elements gripped the entire world when the Panama Papers scandal came to light. I am sure everyone remembers about ten years ago, when a consortium of investigative journalists unearthed what came to be known as the “Panama Papers”. They had unravelled a web of tax havens. The documents confirmed that several countries, including Canada, were indeed home to the scoundrels I mentioned earlier, whether companies or individuals. In total, 900 of them had flouted every possible law, and then some, to evade taxes.

Some countries have taken the bull by the horns and achieved concrete results. In Australia, $44 million was recovered, compared with $87 million in Germany, $175 million in Spain and $25 million in Iceland. Canada, for its part, has recovered nothing. That is pretty weak.

That is precisely why this bill must be passed. The CRA and anyone who cares about ensuring that everyone pays their fair share must be treated fairly. Being treated fairly means having to pay, and if a company does not pay, it should be seen as a bad guy who does not pay taxes. That is why it is important to do the right thing.

It is also important to note that there are key points in each of the three stages. For example, earlier we talked about the shortfall. I will not deny that certain phrases sometimes sound better in French than in English. One thing, however, can be expressed equally in both languages. I was talking earlier about the minority government, which has since become a majority government because of the floor crossers. The term “floor crossers” is funny, is it not? I think “floor crossers” sounds just as good in French, for that it what they are.

Getting back to the shortfall, some countries have handled that well, namely the United States, Great Britain, Turkey and Sweden. It is time for Canada to do the right thing so that everyone who is supposed to pay can do so properly. That is why it is essential that this bill pass.

Allow me to recognize the perseverance of Senator Percy Downe who, for years, did the necessary work to push for this critical cause. It is thanks to him that we can debate it today. I also want to thank my colleague from Simcoe North for this. I want to note that my colleague served, in a different era, in better times for Canada, in Prime Minister Harper's government, in various ministers' offices, and he distinguished himself in a most inspiring way. I would like to think that, in a few years, three years at most, Canadians will honour us with their trust and the member for Simcoe North would do a great service to the Canadian government in cabinet. I am saying that he would make a good minister.

Let us get back to the matter at hand.

Yes, the Canada Revenue Agency absolutely must do its job. It is clear that these are not great times for the CRA. Just a few months ago, the Auditor General tabled a scathing report about poor management at the CRA. The report notes that there was a complete lack of leadership, with terrible results for all Canadians.

Why would I say that? One reason is that people were waiting for ages when they called for information. Worse still, when information was provided, it was not always correct. Just imagine: People who cannot afford to pay a tax expert or an accountant to prepare their tax return for them pick up the phone, call CRA, talk to someone and get the wrong information one in five times. A few months later, CRA writes to let them know they made a mistake and owe $150, which they have to pay back right away because interest charges will keep adding up. That is what happened after 10 years of Liberal leadership at the Canada Revenue Agency.

I would like to reiterate what the member for Simcoe North said to my government colleague earlier. He said that CRA employees should not be blamed for not being properly trained. Nor should the CRA itself be blamed for being badly mismanaged in recent years. Let us not forget that Prime Minister Trudeau put someone in charge for seven years who did not necessarily have sufficient experience in this field to provide strong leadership.

I would like to commend and thank the current Prime Minister for firing this person from cabinet. I would also like to commend and thank the people of the Gaspé region for firing her from the House of Commons.

Obviously, we would have preferred to see our candidate, Jean‑Pierre Pigeon, elected in that riding. The people decided otherwise. That said, I have absolutely nothing against the current member from the Gaspé region, a former fellow journalist who truly stands out, and that is a good thing for Canadian democracy.

This bill needs to move forward. We need to move forward to keep Canada in the loop when it comes to targeting and tracking down white collar criminals who do not pay their full taxes. We need to flush out these characters who, unfortunately, do not have the honour and dignity of paying what they owe and who invest tens of thousands, if not millions, of dollars to avoid paying what they owe the Canadian government. Canada needs this legislation to flush out criminals, be more transparent and get access to all the necessary information.

That is why we obviously hope that the entire House will vote in favour of this bill.

[Dominique O'Rourke, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to discuss Bill S-217, an act to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act with regard to reporting on unpaid income tax.

This bill would amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act to require the CRA to list all convictions for tax evasion, including international tax evasion, in its annual report. The bill also requires the CRA to include statistics on the tax gap in its annual report once every three years. Additionally, Bill S-217 specifies that the Minister of National Revenue is to provide the Parliamentary Budget Officer with data on the tax gap.

Broadly defined, the tax gap is the difference between the taxes that would be paid if all obligations were fully met in all instances, and taxes that are actually paid and collected. It is not difficult to imagine that a lot of circumstances could produce a tax gap. That said, I should point out that the CRA is firmly committed to protecting the integrity and fairness of Canada's tax system. This includes cracking down on tax avoidance and tax evasion both domestically and internationally. I should also mention that CRA takes a firm stand on non-compliance.

First, I would like to point out that the CRA has a robust criminal investigations program. This program investigates major cases of tax evasion, tax fraud and other serious criminal violations of tax laws. Where appropriate, the CRA's criminal investigations program refers cases to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada for potential criminal prosecution, which is extremely serious.

The consequences for taxpayers who commit tax fraud or hide assets or money abroad are very serious. If convicted of tax evasion, these taxpayers must still pay the full amount of tax owed, plus interest and administrative penalties imposed by the CRA. Under the Income Tax Act, offenders could face a fine of up to 200% of the taxes evaded. In addition, they could also be sentenced to up to five years in prison.

It should also be noted that a person convicted of fraud under the Criminal Code is liable in Canada to a sentence of up to 14 years in prison. Fingerprinting and restrictions on international travel are also possible consequences. However, it should be noted that all convictions related to tax evasion, including those involving tax evasion abroad, are already published via enforcement notices on the Canada.ca website.

The CRA has also set up a free subscription service to raise Canadian taxpayers' awareness of CRA enforcement actions and warn them about potential fraud schemes. During the period from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2025, the courts sentenced 49 people to prison for a total of more than 98 years. Investigations are under way, prosecutions are under way, action is being taken and people are being sentenced. That represents more than $39 million in evaded federal taxes, with a total of $24.5 million in court-imposed fines.

As of March 31, 2025, the criminal investigations program, or CIP, had 200 ongoing investigations. That is a huge number of investigations. Between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, the CIP also executed 86 search warrants, a 46% increase from the previous fiscal year. The CIP's computer forensics analysts seized at least 258 devices totalling more than 119 terabytes of data.

I would now like to bring up a second point, namely the CRA's work on estimating Canada's tax gap. Since 2016, the CRA has had a dedicated team studying the tax gap, which supports the Government of Canada's commitment to encouraging an open and transparent discussion on tax non-compliance.

Estimates of Canada's tax gap, combined with other indicators relating to compliance and non-compliance, can provide valuable insights into the overall health of our tax system.

At the end of March, the CRA published Canada's second overall tax gap report for the 2014 to 2022 tax years. This edition presents the overall federal tax gap and is supported by updated estimates based on the most recent data available for the 2014 to 2022 tax years. The report provides tax gap estimates for all key components. These include personal income tax, corporate income tax, GST, HST and excise revenue. The report also includes two new subcomponents: the payment payroll gap and the excise gap on cannabis. Furthermore, it examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the federal tax gap, providing an overall picture. Importantly, this report also highlights how the CRA's compliance and collection activities are impacting the tax gap.

The money recovered by the CRA puts downward pressure on the federal tax gap each year. We have the numbers in front of us, and we can compare the gross and net amounts. In tax year 2022, the gross tax gap was 16% of the federal tax revenue or $59.5 billion. However, the net tax gap would have been 9.3% of the federal tax revenue or $34.7 billion, so the CRA's compliance and collection activities resulted in a potential reduction of the overall gross tax gap by 42%, or $24.8 billion.

That said, I would like to mention that the data on Canada's tax gap is also published on the Government of Canada's open data portal and is widely available. That means that this information can be accessed by the Canadian public and interested parties, such as the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Canadians can rest assured that the Government of Canada and the CRA remain committed to supporting the Parliamentary Budget Officer in carrying out her mandate. This commitment is being fulfilled with the assurance that Canadians' confidential tax information is protected in accordance with the law. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the recent appointment of Annette Ryan as the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

In conclusion, the work on the tax gap provides us with a clearer picture of the health of Canada's tax system. This work encourages an open and transparent discussion on tax non-compliance. That said, it is important to note that many factors remain beyond the control of any tax administration when estimating the tax gap. Moreover, there is an international consensus that a country's tax gap will likely never reach zero.

Furthermore, it is important to note that the tax gap is not a performance indicator for either the CRA or the government. It is a theoretical estimate of non-compliance with tax obligations over a given period, and this non-compliance can vary over time. As a result, the tax gap is primarily an important source of information to monitor what is happening in our tax system.

One thing is certain: These efforts to address the tax gap are aimed at ensuring that everyone, individuals and corporations alike, meets their tax obligations, because taxes not only fund government services and programs, but also promote economic development in Canada through investments in the many sectors of our economy.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to Bill S-217, which was introduced by my friend and colleague in the other place Senator Percy Downe. I thank him for his perseverance in pushing this issue forward. I believe this is the third time the bill was introduced and adopted in the other place and the third time the bill has been sent to the House for consideration. I know Senator Downe has put a lot of work into this.

To be clear, we support this bill. It would, broadly, do three things. First, it would have the CRA publish a list of people who are criminally convicted for tax evasion, which I think is an important part of public disclosure and transparency. Second, it would require the CRA to estimate the tax gap between taxes owed and taxes collected. Third, it would require the CRA to provide data to the Parliamentary Budget Officer so that the Parliamentary Budget Officer can independently assess the tax gap between taxes owed and taxes collected. Those are, I think, three very good goals of the bill.

I would encourage my colleagues to support this legislation. It is important to maintain the integrity of our income tax system. This will give the institutions of state the tools they need to do that so that we can ensure lower taxes for everyone, because when we close the tax gap and reduce tax evasion, taxes can go down.

I look forward to the further debate and vote on this bill.

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. member will have the balance of his time when the chamber next considers the bill. The time provided for the consideration of Private Members' Business has now expired, and the order is dropped to the bottom of the order of precedence on the Order Paper.