Debates of April 8th, 2003

Member for LaSalle—Émard

[Gerald Keddy, Progressive Conservative, South Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.

The Auditor General stated today that when it comes to combating money laundering “funds have been moved through companies involved in international trade”.

She further stated “'know your customer' is a basic part of a system to fight money laundering”.

When CSL struck a deal that involved Suharto's son, was the then minister of finance, the member for LaSalle—Émard, briefed by CSL or his officials on the potential for his business deal to involve money laundering on the part of Suharto's son or of a corrupt regime?

[The Speaker]

I do not believe that question falls within the administrative responsibility of the government. The hon. member for South Shore may want to ask another question as a supplementary.

Auditor General

[Gerald Keddy, Progressive Conservative, South Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, today, in the Auditor General's 2003 annual report, she indicated that her office was facing a $1 million shortfall.

Two years ago the member for Calgary Centre mentioned in the House:

There are several ways to muzzle the watchdogs of parliament. One way is to deny...adequate funding to the auditor general....

Will the Prime Minister indicate to the House whether the Auditor General will be receiving additional resources in order to keep up with the audits on programs such as the failed long gun registry?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have always funded the Auditor General adequately. If there are some problems there is a process to ask for new funds.

We used to have only one report a year. We are the government that proposed and passed legislation to authorize four reports a year. Nobody can say that we do not want the Auditor General to do her work. We proved that we were more open than any other government when we gave the authority for four reports a year.

Taxation

[Grant Hill, Canadian Alliance, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Barbados tax avoidance scheme benefited the former finance minister and his corporation, CSL. He promised to close that loophole but did not.

Will the government today close the loophole that continues to benefit CSL, the former finance minister and his family?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I have no idea how any particular provision might benefit a particular company. I would be interested in knowing how the hon. member knows that.

As I explained last week in the House, the provisions are pursuant to a tax treaty between Canada and Barbados. We generally do not suspend the application of a tax treaty unilaterally. Some of these issues are on the table, between Canada and Barbados, in discussions in which we are now engaged.

[Grant Hill, Canadian Alliance, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that this tax loophole could be changed with six months' notice unilaterally. Maybe that is the reason the former finance minister will not appear on programs on CTV to answer these questions.

At the start of his tenure it cost the Canadian taxpayer $4 million. At the end of his tenure it cost $1.5 billion and Canadian taxpayers had to make up the difference.

Again, why does the government not close the tax loophole now?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, many submissions have been received on this, including those from companies that believe this is an appropriate provision to exempt tax paid surplus that is earned in a foreign affiliate located in a treaty country from being further taxed when its returned to Canada.

I think, rather than personalizing his views, the hon. member might want to take the time to look at the tax policy behind it and then give us his considered opinion whether the changes he is advocating ought to be made.

Dairy Substitute Imports

[Odina Desrochers, Bloc, Lotbinière—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, imported butter oil and sugar blends are increasingly taking the place of Canadian milk in certain dairy products. This has resulted in a loss of some $30 million annually for Quebec and Canadian milk producers.

What is keeping the Minister of National Revenue from taking action to control these imports in the same way as he has such products as milk, butter, cheese and yoghurt?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, as you are aware, this is a matter on which we have worked hard since the caucus meeting last August.

The four ministers involved have addressed the matter, and we have determined, acting on recommendations from departmental staff, that the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and myself should reflect on the matter and gauge the potential legal impacts of any decision.

Our recommendations, once determined, will be made known shortly, directly to the dairy producers.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Mr. Speaker, those may be fine words, but in the meantime tonnes of butter oil-sugar blend have been imported into Canada without any tariff control between 1998 and 2003. Moreover, there was a 557% jump in these imports between 1995 and 2001.

How can the Canadian government dare to say that it is negotiating an agreement with the United States in order to control these imports, while the bulk of the dairy substitutes are coming from New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Mexico?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, as I have just said, this butter oil issue is precisely one of those we have been looking into.

The United States is not the only one involved. Obviously, some of the product comes from New Zealand and some from other countries. But it is covered by a tariff line negotiated at the time. We have already gone before the international tribunal with this, and lost, a few years ago.

We are currently reviewing our options. We have been given some recommendations and are looking at them at the present time. We shall be adopting one of the recommendations shortly.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Lynne Yelich, Canadian Alliance, Blackstrap, SK]

Mr. Speaker, immigration officers are present at only 44 of 272 staffed ports of entry. In light of terrorist threats, the question is, who is getting through the other 228 ports of entry?

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, we have a memorandum of understanding with the revenue department. We are working together. Authority is delegated by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to the people at Canada Customs. We are working together.

I must stress that our goal is to achieve a balance between vigilance and openness. And on both counts, we are doing a fine job.

[Lynne Yelich, Canadian Alliance, Blackstrap, SK]

Mr. Speaker, new arrivals are waved through, directed to immigration offices and expected to show up on the honour system. I do not think Canadians believe the honour system is the best approach to national security.

Why has the Liberal government failed to protect our border by not staffing 84% of our ports of entry with immigration officers?

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, our department is working hand in hand with the revenue department to ensure that we can indeed have a policy of consistency and efficiency and that both departments can protect Canadian citizens, that is, new arrivals and those welcoming them.

Fisheries

[Tom Wappel, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the management of last year's Fraser River sockeye salmon fishery in British Columbia drew a lot of public criticism, especially from the commercial fishing sector. Many felt they had lost fishing opportunities during what was a run of record abundance.

Last September the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans initiated a post-season review of the 2002 salmon fishery which resulted in a report involving all industry stakeholders.

Will the minister please inform the House about this report and his response to it.

[Robert Thibault, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, I first would like to thank all the people who served on that review. They did an excellent job. It has been unprecedented that we have had co-operation from all sectors in British Columbia: first nations government, environmental organizations, and commercial and recreational fishers.

I am pleased to announce that I am accepting all 14 recommendations in their report which will lead to a much better managed fishery. I look forward to continuing to work with them in the future.

Firearms Registry

[Garry Breitkreuz, Canadian Alliance, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the justice minister's Plans and Priorities report confirm that the firearms program will cost more than a billion dollars by 2005. However, in an unprecedented move, the minister tabled his estimates report with 105 blanks, so no one can tell how much it will really cost.

In December the Auditor General told the government to stop keeping Parliament in the dark.

Why is the minister's report to Parliament filled with blanks rather than facts and figures?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should do his homework. On the government side we did our work. First, we have accepted all the recommendations of the Auditor General's report. Second, we have asked for a few studies as well in order to move forward with a good plan of action and with the supplementary B estimates that have been tabled in the House for about $59 million. For next year we are talking about $113 million.

Having said that, the numbers have been established based on Mr. Hession's report. The hon. member should read Mr. Hession's report in order to know the exact calculation that we have used.

[Garry Breitkreuz, Canadian Alliance, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, that is no answer.

Why are all those spaces blank with the costs unreported? We do not know what it will cost. If Mr. Hession's report was so valuable why is there not some reflection of that in the bill that is now before Parliament, Bill C-10A?

These amendments to the gun registry, which were tabled yesterday and debated yesterday, have been kicking around this House for more than two years.

Why does the minister not just admit that there are no amendments that can fix the firearms registry? Why not just scrap it?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, it is very simple. As I have said, this government has a very good plan of action. The estimates are quite clear. He should read, as a member, the report of Mr. Hession. We based our calculation on Mr. Hession's report.

Having said that, it is a strong policy and a good policy for Canadians that we support and Canadians support.

However those members do not support it and will never support gun control because when they read in a press release that gun control will result in more crime, more injuries and more deaths, they cannot support a good policy. They will never do that.

Fisheries

[Ghislain Fournier, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on the Lower North Shore, ice conditions will prevent fishing boats from going out for another month, thus depriving fishers of their income. That is why they have been demonstrating for eight days, awaiting a positive response from Fisheries and Oceans Canada to their request for a special program.

Does the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans intend to grant these fishers who are the victims of a situation beyond their control a special allowance like the one in the early 1990s?

[Robert Thibault, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, I will soon be announcing management measures for the current year concerning fisheries for several species. As we know, there are species at risk, and difficult decisions will have to be made. Both the minister responsible for the Canada Economic Development Agency and the minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency are preparing to provide a solution to help communities in need, if required.

Government Online Services

[Tony Valeri, Liberal, Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the recent Accenture report recognized Canada as a global leader in e-government.

Over the past year consultations have been held across the country to discuss the future of e-government with stakeholders.

Given our progress to date, there is broad agreement that we have an opportunity to help establish competitive advantages in the knowledge economy and strengthen our democracy. Sure, there are challenges going forward; there is a need to develop new models of accountability; how to treat information as a public resource; and encouraging political leadership.

Could the President of the Treasury Board tell the House what the government intends to do to meet these challenges and ensure that Canada continues to be a world leader in e-government?