Debates of Dec. 6th, 1996

Immigration

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, it is very important to mention that Canada has a longstanding commitment to bilateral endeavours with several nations in the area of illegal migration. Canada has been working with such officials to uncover and investigate the smuggling ring. Our co-operation in this matter is continuing.

Canadian interdiction activities have resulted in a 50 per cent decrease in the number of improperly documented arrivals at Canadian airports since 1990. There is a great deal of activity in the department to deal with this issue and it is quite successful.

[Val Meredith, Reform, Surrey—White Rock—South Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, talk is cheap. What Canadians want is action.

In April, immigration officers arrested a man for smuggling four Chinese refugee claimants into Vancouver airport. When the case went to court, the smuggler received a sentence of one day in jail. One day in jail is not going to be a deterrent for anybody in the multibillion dollar industry of trafficking of people.

I ask the parliamentary secretary if the government is prepared to introduce tough new penalties that would deter these criminals from trafficking in human beings?

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, the fact that the individual received jail it is obvious that we have very strong legislation-

[Val Meredith, Reform, Surrey—White Rock—South Langley, BC]

One day in jail?

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—Woodbine, ON]

Nonetheless the individual will be deported and not be allowed to stay in this country. Bill C-44 deals very clearly with that issue, something which the opposition did not support.

As I said before, the RCMP have very strong relations with police abroad. In this case, which the hon. member has cited, by working together with the Dutch officials we have uncovered this issue and it is being dealt with. The system is working. When people are caught they are deported. The system we have in place is very effective.

Taxation

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the finance minister said in this House, and I quote:

"When someone leaves the country, it is quite likely the tax is not due, since the item in question was never sold; so there is no capital gains tax".

His motion tabled on October 2 indicated that, when assets are transferred out of the country, there is deemed disposition. The capital gain must be calculated and the tax is payable.

My question is quite simple, it is a Taxation 101 question. Yes or no, does a transfer of assets out of the country cause a disposition and thus the calculation of the capital gain on which a tax is to be paid?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, a capital gain is realized when the item in question is sold. That having been said, since we have the right to tax residents, we want to ensure that someone who is a resident and who becomes a non-resident pays us the tax when it is due. The tax is determined when the emigrant leaves the country.

If the emigrant did not sell the item, this is treated the same way as if someone had something to sell in the country, that is, when it is sold, the tax is payable, except that it is determined when the emigrant leaves the country. That is where we ask for the security.

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I now realize that the minister tables ways and means motions and related documents without knowing what they contain. It is incredible to hear such things.

Thus, according to the minister, there is no disposition when a rich taxpayer transfers his assets out of the country. However, the motion he tabled on October 2 said, and I quote once again: "When there is a transfer of trusts out of the country, we ask for a security that is sufficient to pay for any tax due through the deemed disposition". This is exactly the opposite of what the minister just said. This is incredible.

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has the flu, so I also understand this is sometimes hard to follow.

The member just explained the exact situation. The tax is determined when the emigrant leaves the country. The capital gain taxable in Canada is the difference between the purchase price and the value when the emigrant leaves the country. The gain is realized when the item in question is sold, which is the same as when this happens in the country.

Communications

[Bob Ringma, Reform, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, a former CRTC chairman stated that Canadians that rely on direct to home satellite service from the United States would not be prosecuted for violating CRTC regulations.

Recent media reports indicate that maybe officials are getting ready to prosecute those persons whose only crime appears to be that there is no Canadian provider of those satellite services.

Will the Minister of Industry give his assurance to the House and the people of Canada that until companies in Canada start providing DTH services that Canadians who receive U.S. signals will not be charged with an offence.

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question. I think he understands that it is very important that we distinguish between the black market in this trade and the grey market.

It is an offence to tamper with the equipment that enables people to acquire signals from satellites without paying for them. That is the black market. In the cases that have been reported in the newspapers it has been a case of the RCMP endeavouring to enforce the law in respect of the black market.

With respect to the grey market generally speaking, consumers will acquire a system through an intermediary that orders the direct to home service from an address in the United States and they pay indirectly for that service. It is not our intention to take any legal action against those subscribers.

I would like to make sure that they understand that they do not have the ability to ensure that the service will continue to be delivered to them. In fact, they may be at peril of losing a fairly substantial investment of $1,000 to $1,500 in the equipment because there is no way to ensure that the American service provider will continue to provide them with service.

[Bob Ringma, Reform, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister will be aware that the reason for the grey market is that there are no Canadian providers. The reason there is no Canadian service is because of CRTC regulations, an over abundance of regulations and hurdles that these companies have to go through.

What will the government do to clear away the obstacles and the red tape that prevent Canadian companies from fulfilling the market that is there, ready and waiting?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member will be pleased to know that at least one

Canadian provider expects to be offering a service in the very near future.

In addition, the hon. member will know that we launched a request for submissions to the private sector in the hope that on a fast track we will have a proposal by December 15 to establish a Canadian direct to home satellite service in the Canadian satellite slot.

The hon. member will also know that if we are to have a Canadian service we need to be able to ensure that the service is up and running. To do that it is necessary for us to ensure that there is respect for the law and that the licensing laws in Canada are applied.

He will know that a Canadian service provider would not be licensed to provide direct to home service in the United States. I am sure for that reason he would not encourage us to permit U.S. service providers to provide service in Canada.

Violence Against Women

[Gerry Byrne, Liberal, Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister assisting the important work of the Secretary of State for the Status of Women.

Today is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. I would like to know how the government has responded to the calls to end violence against women and how the government is marking this important day.

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Minister for International Cooperation and Minister responsible for Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the government I would like to recognize the significance of this very important day.

The attacks of seven years ago at l'École Polytechnique shook all Canadians.

Today the secretary of state is in Vancouver holding a round table against commercial sexual exploitation of children, the majority of whom, of course, are girls. It is a form of violence that strikes the most vulnerable.

Our government has introduced gun control legislation, legislation against criminal harassment and we have supported women's programs and shelters. We have accomplished a great deal.

I recognize that this is a societal problems and all men have to be interested in this issue of violence against women, in large measure perpetrated by men.

Employment Equity

[Alfonso Gagliano, Liberal, Minister of Labour and Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) and to section 9 of the Employment Equity Act, 1986, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the Employment Equity Act annual report.

Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), this report is deemed referred to the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development.

Taxpayer Information

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I am pleased to table, in both official languages, the report on the security incident concerning taxpayer information found in surplus filing cabinets.

Government Response To Petitions

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to eight petitions.

Petitions

[Beryl Gaffney, Liberal, Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present. The first one has 313 signatures and the other has 250, most from the city of Nepean.

The petitioners believe that there are profound inadequacies in the sentencing practices concerning individuals convicted of impaired driving charges and that Canada must embrace the philosophy of zero tolerance toward individuals who drive while impaired by alcohol.

The petitioners request that Parliament proceed immediately with amendments to the Criminal Code that will ensure that the sentence given to anyone convicted of causing death by driving

while impaired carries a minimum sentence of 7 years and a maximum of 14 years.

[Beryl Gaffney, Liberal, Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition has signatures from 25 people. These people are concerned that there continue to exist over 30,000 nuclear weapons on the earth and that the continuing existence of nuclear weapons poses a threat to the health and survival of human civilization and the global environment.

They ask that Parliament support the immediate initiation, by the year 2000, of an international convention which will set out a binding timetable for the abolition of all nuclear weapons.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have to petitions to present today.

The first comes from Hamilton, Ontario. The petitioners draw to the attention of the House that our police and firefighters place their lives at risk on a daily basis as they serve the emergency needs of all Canadians.

They also state that in many cases the families of officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty are often left without sufficient financial means to meet their obligations.

The petitioners therefore pray and call on Parliament to establish a public safety officers compensation fund to receive gifts and bequests for the benefit of families of police officers and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition comes from Calgary, Alberta.

The petitioners draw to the attention of the House that managing the family home and caring for preschool children is an honourable profession which has not been recognized for its value to our society.

The petitioners therefore pray and call on Parliament to pursue initiatives to assist families that choose to provide care in the home for preschool children, the disabled, the chronically ill or the aged.

[Dave Chatters, Reform, Athabasca, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition today by residents from all over Alberta.

The petitioners ask the government to remove the taxation on reading material. The petitioners believe that the application of the 7 per cent GST to reading material is unfair and wrong. Education and literacy are critical to the development of our country and a regressive tax on reading material hampers that development.

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—Woodbine, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of some of my constituents in Beaches-Woodbine I present a petition asking the federal government to honour its commitment outlined in the red book committing itself to quality and accessible child care.

The petitioners state this commitment to family and children can be met by recognizing that child care is an infrastructure program that allows parents to work toward their goals of economic independence. As a social infrastructure program, the petitioners would like the government to provide highways to social, economic and developmental growth to thousands of Canadians both young and old.

Questions On The Order Paper

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, the following question will be answered today: Question No. 93.

Question No. 93-