House of Commons Hansard #57 of the 37th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was regulations.
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, there will be a budget in exactly seven days. I hope the member will be in the House to listen. The Minister of Finance will deal with his plans about taxation.
Charlie Penson Canadian Alliance Peace River, AB
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance could start by axing the capital tax.
As the former minister of industry, the finance minister knows the capital tax is bad for Canada. It discourages the exact type of investment we need to boost our lagging productivity. For the second year in a row the finance committee has called for this tax to be abolished.
I ask the Prime Minister again, will he direct the current Minister of Finance to assure the House he will follow through on this unanimous decision from the House of Commons finance committee?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance will do as we have done for the last 10 years. He will ensure that we have a balanced budget, that the deficit does not exist any more, that we have reduced taxes as we have by $100 billion over the last three years, and that we are in a very good position financially.
Next Tuesday, the member of Parliament will have the occasion to applaud again the good management of our--
Paul Steckle Liberal Huron—Bruce, ON
Mr. Speaker, on December 5, 2002, in the House, the supplementary estimates were passed devoid of new money for the firearms program. Today, without that funding, the national gun registry continues to receive new registration forms.
Could the Minister of Justice tell the House from where the operational funds are coming?
Martin Cauchon LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, up until the approval of the supplementary estimates, we were moving with what we call cash management. We said that before Christmas. The program is running at minimum cost but we are able to fulfill our duty.
Of course it is a short term solution and we are sure that the House will support gun control and will support public safety when we vote on the supplementary estimates.
Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—St. Clair, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.
The immigration minister recently asked Canadians to engage in a debate on the national identity cards which that minister supports. A number of the Liberal caucus members, including at least one cabinet minister, have indicated in response that they do not support them.
I wonder if the Prime Minister would take this opportunity to indicate to us and the Canadian people his position. Is he in favour of NIDs or not?
Denis Coderre LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. This is likely the one of the most vital issues for the coming decade.
Like the Canadian population as a whole, the government has absolutely no problem with holding a debate on this matter. It is important in a democratic society to be able to discuss important issues.
When society loses $2.5 billion as a result of identity theft, I think it is important to raise some questions.
Dick Proctor NDP Palliser, SK
Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Hockey Association now allows body checking as early as age nine. The changes were made after data indicated there was no evidence of additional injuries.
However, in view of the fact that the data analysis was wrong, that the CHA's research committee resigned en masse in protest of hitting at such a tender age and that at least one province, that of Quebec, does not allow hitting before the age of 14, does the minister responsible for amateur sport not think that the Canadian Hockey Association should be assessed a game misconduct in this issue?
Paul Devillers LiberalSecretary of State (Amateur Sport) and Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada considers the safety of all our athletes as a number one priority. The executive director of the CHA has confirmed to me that the CHA has the same priority.
As a matter of fact, the CHA will be reviewing its decision at its annual meeting to be held in the month of May. However, only 13% of all boys between the ages of 9 and 10 are actually playing contact hockey presently.
Scott Brison Progressive Conservative Kings—Hants, NS
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Revenue keeps referring to the 1,000 person investigative unit within CCRA as proof that she is doing all she can do to prevent GST fraud.
Of those 1,000 investigators, how many of them are actually focused exclusively on fighting GST fraud and how many of them are just simply working on general audit duties?
Elinor Caplan LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, for the member's information, we have 5,000 auditors doing general audit duties. We have 1,000 investigators, and included in the 1,000 investigators, we have 127 special investigators who are looking specifically at links to organized crime. The result of their efforts last year, in GST alone, resulted in an additional $850 million collected in GST.
Bill Casey Progressive Conservative Cumberland—Colchester, NS
Mr. Speaker, in 1995, Revenue Canada cancelled the GST enforcement service. This fraud squad, which was established by the Conservatives to avoid GST fraud, actually recovered millions and millions of dollars, that is, until the Liberals cancelled it.
What was the government thinking of when it cancelled the GST enforcement service?
Elinor Caplan LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, the member really is creating an incorrect impression. What happened in 1995 was that the GST unit and the tax investigation unit were combined to provide greater expertise. The result is that this past year we have seen double the number of prosecutions for GST fraud.
The decision to create a bigger and better unit has resulted in more investigations, more prosecutions and, in fact, a very good record in the court of successful cases.
Chuck Strahl Canadian Alliance Fraser Valley, BC
Mr. Speaker, when the dust settles on the next budget, many Canadians fear they will wake up to basically the same failed policy started by the former finance minister: things like a billion dollars wasted on the out of control gun registry; untold millions on the GST fraud; and, of course, the $11 billion spent on questionable corporate handouts, many of them to profitable corporations, many of which have close ties to the federal government.
Will the minister agree that now is the time for the federal government to get its act together and stop the handouts to corporate Canada?
Maurizio Bevilacqua LiberalSecretary of State (International Financial Institutions)
Mr. Speaker, I wonder what the point of the hon. member's question is. After all, when one considers the great success of the government with the elimination of the deficit, the reduction of the national debt and 560,000 new jobs last year alone, this is a government that works well.
Thanks to the hard work and sacrifices of Canadians, we have brought about an economic renaissance that is number one in the world.
Chuck Strahl Canadian Alliance Fraser Valley, BC
And none more, Mr. Speaker, closer than the friends of the current government.
Last week the Prime Minister explained how he found new money for the health care agreement. In speaking of the provinces, the Prime Minister said:
They say that the money that we had promised three years ago to be new money this year is no more new money. We have not paid it yet and it's old new money versus new new monies. For me, new money is new money if paying in $5 or $10, it's the same money.
I am not sure what he meant by that but if he is seriously looking for new money to cut taxes, to help health care and so on, will he agree that cutting the $11 billion in corporate welfare is a good place to start?
Maurizio Bevilacqua LiberalSecretary of State (International Financial Institutions)
Mr. Speaker, I wonder what he finds so unclear. The reality is that the Prime Minister was very clear. He injected billions and billions of dollars to make sure that Canada's health care system will be accessible, high quality and provide the type of service that Canadians demand and deserve.
Now we just have to get the provinces to work hard and bring about positive change in the health care system.
Paul Crête Bloc Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Industry acknowledged that, in the past, the Competition Bureau did look into what was going on in the industry. The prices of gasoline have risen astronomically, and yet the minister is keeping his arms crossed and sloughing the problem off on the provinces.
How can the Minister maintain that the Competition Bureau cannot determine that there is collusion, when every day in every big city in Canada consumers see all the gas stations raising their prices at the same time, on the same day?
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, I must insist that the hon. member respect provincial jurisdiction. Only the provinces have the authority under the constitution to regulate retail prices. That is the truth of the matter, and the member must respect the jurisdiction of the provinces.
Paul Crête Bloc Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Mr. Speaker, the minister ought to start by assuming his responsibilities, that would be a good start.
Does the minister realize that, by refusing to intervene on gasoline prices, he is also refusing to intervene on heating oil costs, thus leaving thousands of families at the mercy of the oil and gas companies?
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, who is going to be the one to inform Premier Landry that we are going to stick our noses into his business? This is unacceptable.
At the federal level, we have jurisdiction over competition. We have a Competition Bureau. We are always prepared to address these issues. Regulating prices, however, is another matter. That is up to the provinces.
Val Meredith Canadian Alliance South Surrey—White Rock—Langley, BC
Mr. Speaker, when the Americans raised the threat level to orange there were immediate tie-ups at the border and the Nexus lanes were temporarily closed.
This has many Canadian manufacturers very concerned about the long term access to their American markets and some are even contemplating moving down to the United States.
Given that one-third of the Canadian economy is dependent upon exports to the United States, why has the government been unable to assure our exporters access to their American markets?
Elinor Caplan LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, as soon as we became aware of the orange alert we contacted our American partners and offered to assist them in any way we could to ensure that there was a heightened security.
We allocated additional resources to customs on the front line in Canada. I am pleased to say to the hon. member that, all things considered, the border over the weekend functioned well and it is functioning well now.
In a state of heightened alert I think everyone should expected there to be some delays because of heightened security.
Val Meredith Canadian Alliance South Surrey—White Rock—Langley, BC
Mr. Speaker, despite the ministers claims, the Americans are becoming even more restrictive at the border, not less.
The proposed 24 hour requirement by the Americans is devastating to the Canadian auto industry, costing our economy billions of dollars and thousands of jobs.
Why has the government allowed its poor relationship with the United States government to jeopardize the Canadian economy and Canadian jobs?