House of Commons Hansard #115 of the 37th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was parties.
Geoff Regan LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) I have the pleasure to table, in both official languages, two copies of the 2002-03 annual report of the Chief of the Defence Staff, “A Time for Transformation”.
Government Response to PetitionsRoutine Proceedings
Halifax West Nova Scotia
Liberal
Geoff Regan LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 11 petitions.
Peter Adams Liberal Peterborough, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the 36th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding political financing. In this report we set out issues and concerns that the committee, or some of its members, had during consideration of Bill C-24. The intent is to signal possible areas for legislative change or future study.
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to also present the 37th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the associate membership of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in this 37th report later this day.
I would like to thank the staff and researchers of our committee for their extraordinary work in recent weeks on legislation that has been before our committee.
Nancy Karetak-Lindell LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, Northern Development and Natural Resources.
Peter Adams Liberal Peterborough, ON
Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent I move that the 37th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs presented to the House earlier this day be concurred in.
James Rajotte Canadian Alliance Edmonton Southwest, AB
Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present today.
The first petition calls upon Parliament to remember that in 1999 it passed the definition of marriage as being the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, and asks us to maintain and preserve that definition.
James Rajotte Canadian Alliance Edmonton Southwest, AB
Mr. Speaker, the two other petitions I have to present deal with amendments to sections 318 and 319 of the Criminal Code. These petitioners, hundreds of them from my riding and area, are very concerned about the impact on the freedom of religious expression, one of the fundamental freedoms we have in Canada.
Jay Hill Canadian Alliance Prince George—Peace River, BC
Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure this morning to present petitions on behalf of my constituents of Prince George—Peace River.
First, I have two petitions that deal with the issue of child pornography, signed by constituents primarily from the town of Chetwynd and the cities of Fort St. John and Dawson Creek. My constituents would like to draw Parliament's attention to the fact that they believe the Liberal Bill C-20 does not adequately protect our nation's children. Therefore they call upon Parliament to protect our children by taking all necessary steps to ensure that all materials that promote or glorify child pornography are outlawed in law.
Jay Hill Canadian Alliance Prince George—Peace River, BC
Mr. Speaker, I have two more petitions to add to those I have already presented in this chamber. These come from Canadians from across western Canada who note that adoptive parents make a significant social contribution to our society, and they face significant adoption related costs. Therefore the petitioners call upon Parliament to adopt income tax deductions for expenses related to the adoption of children, as contained in Bill C-246, my private member's bill.
Peter Adams Liberal Peterborough, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two petitions, one from people in the Orillia-Midland area of Ontario and one from the Prince Edward—Hastings area of Ontario. These petitions are from people who have concerns about the definition of marriage. I am pleased to present them for the MPs of those ridings.
Peter Adams Liberal Peterborough, ON
Mr. Speaker, if I may, I again will rise to present a petition on the matter of the importance of kidney research. Kidney disease is a huge and growing problem in Canada. Real progress is being made in various ways of preventing and coping with kidney disease, but these citizens of Peterborough call upon Parliament to encourage the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to explicitly include kidney research as one of the institutes in the system, to be named the institute of kidney and urinary tract diseases.
I would like to thank Ken Sharp of Peterborough and his colleagues and friends for developing this petition and working so hard on this important issue.
John M. Cummins Canadian Alliance Delta—South Richmond, BC
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me today to present a petition on behalf of many constituents, primarily from Sidney, British Columbia, who are expressing their concern about funding for the Coast Guard. In the petition they note that funds to the Coast Guard have declined and staffing and equipment provided for the Coast Guard are not sufficient to meet the responsibilities. They note as well that several people might have been saved if the Coast Guard had been properly equipped in some recent events in British Columbia.
They call on Parliament to restore funding to the Coast Guard and to separate it from its current home, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. As well, they call on Parliament to provide adequate funding for a new hovercraft on the west coast.
Bob Speller Liberal Haldimand—Norfolk—Brant, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have three sets of petitions from constituents in my riding, who have done a lot of work to put together these petitions.
The first petition calls on the Government of Canada to protect the rights of Canadians to be free to share their religious beliefs without fear of prosecution. They are concerned about a private member's bill in the House on that subject and call upon Parliament to recognize the fact that people should have religious freedoms.
Bob Speller Liberal Haldimand—Norfolk—Brant, ON
Mr. Speaker, another petition from a group in my riding is calling upon Parliament to repeal section 13(5) of the Canada Post Corporation Act. This is about providing rural route mail couriers the right to have a union.
Bob Speller Liberal Haldimand—Norfolk—Brant, ON
Last, Mr. Speaker, petitioners in my riding pray upon Parliament to pass legislation to recognize the institution of marriage in federal law as being a lifelong union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.
Geoff Regan LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 213, 219, 220, 222 and 224.
Scott Reid Canadian Alliance Lanark—Carleton, ON
With respect to the issuance of Performance Bonds (form IMM 1230) and Security Deposits (form IMM 0514): ( a ) how many of each have been issued in each of the last five years; ( b ) for which types of visas; ( c ) what was the money value of typical bonds and deposits; and ( d ) how many were forfeited for non-compliance with the conditions of the bond or deposit?
Denis Coderre LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Insofar as Citizenship and Immigration Canada is concerned, the reply is as follows:
With respect to (a):
Note: CIC has been in the process of implementing a national case management system, NCMS, since 1999 and the roll out will be completed in June 2003. Although the department has some data for some locations, it does not have a full count of performance bonds issued for the period requested. A performance bond is a promissory note to pay if an immigration condition is not met.
With respect to (b), performance bonds and security deposits are not issued for visas. They are issued as a means of ensuring that any and all conditions imposed, either by an immigration officer or by a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board, are respected.
With respect to (c), individual risk factors, as well as the ability of the person or guarantor to meet the requirements of the performance bonds or cash deposit, are considered by the decision maker when setting the value of the bond or security deposit. There is therefore no typical value for performance bonds.
For security deposits, the value can vary substantially. The average value of bonds deposited for the five year period was approximately $3,152.
With respect to (d):
Norman E. Doyle Progressive Conservative St. John's East, NL
Could the Minister of Finance confirm that if a Manitoba parent of three disabled children in a family with a total income of $35,000 were to earn an extra $1,000 working overtime in 2003, the following would be lost to taxes and clawbacks: ( a ) $220 in federal taxes; ( b ) $149 in provincial tax on taxable income; ( c ) $10 in clawback of Manitoba family tax reduction; ( d ) $50 in clawback of Goods and Services Tax credit; ( e ) $321 in clawback of National Child Benefit and Child Disability Benefit; ( f ) $50 in clawback Canada Child Tax Benefit; ( g ) $15 in Employment Insurance net of federal and provincial tax credit; ( h ) $36 in Canada Pension Plan net of federal and provincial tax credit; and ( i ) the total of the above being $851 which equals to an effective marginal tax rate of 85.1 per cent of the additional amount earned?
Bryon Wilfert LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance
A Manitoba family with three disabled children and a total income of $35,000 would not be subject to an effective marginal tax rate of 85.1% because it would not pay any federal or provincial personal income tax. The calculation of the effective marginal tax rate in the example does not reflect the fact that this family would be able to claim the disability tax credit for the children who have disabilities. In fact, a family under these circumstances would not pay any federal personal income tax until almost $43,000 of total income.
Not only would this family not pay any income tax, but in 2003 it would receive about $8,500 in federal net benefits through the Canada child tax benefit, the proposed child disability benefit, and the goods and services tax credit.
This being said, it is correct that some low and modest income families may face high effective marginal tax rates as a result of benefit reduction rates applying in addition to income tax rates over some income ranges. Benefit reduction rates arise from the need to income-test benefits to target government assistance to those who need it most. The budget presented in the House of Commons on February 18, 2003, indicates that “going forward, the federal government and the provinces will need to ensure that, as the welfare wall is overcome, low and modest income families with children who realize greater earnings, for example, by taking up better paying jobs-- keep more of the extra money they earn. This will include examining the reduction or ‘claw-back’ rates for the CCTB as well as other elements of the tax and benefit structure that may affect incentives to work and earn income for low and modest income families”.
Norman E. Doyle Progressive Conservative St. John's East, NL
Could the Minister of Finance confirm that if a Newfoundland parent of three disabled children in a family with a total income of $35,000 were to earn an extra $1,000 working overtime in 2003, the following would be lost to taxes and clawbacks: ( a ) $220 in federal taxes; ( b ) $162 in provincial tax on taxable income; ( c ) $50 in clawback of Goods and Services Tax credit; ( d ) $321 in clawback of National Child Benefit and Child Disability Benefit; ( e ) $50 in clawback Canada Child Tax Benefit; ( f ) $15 in Employment Insurance net of federal and provincial tax credit; ( g ) $36 in Canada Pension Plan net of federal and provincial tax credit; and ( h ) the total of the above being $854, which equals to an effective marginal tax rate of 85.4 per cent of the additional amount earned?
Bryon Wilfert LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance
A family living in Newfoundland with three disabled children and a total income of $35,000 would not be subject to an effective marginal tax rate of 85.1% because it would not pay any federal personal income tax. The calculation of the effective marginal tax rate in the example does not reflect the fact that this family would be able to claim the disability tax credit for the children who have disabilities. In fact, a family under these circumstances would not pay any federal personal income tax until almost $43,000 of total income.
Not only would this family not pay any federal income tax, but in 2003 it would receive about $8,500 in federal net benefits through the Canada child tax benefit, the proposed child disability benefit, and the goods and services tax credit.
This being said, it is correct that some low and modest income families may face high effective marginal tax rates as a result of benefit reduction rates applying in addition to income tax rates over some income ranges. Benefit reduction rates arise from the need to income-test benefits to target government assistance to those who need it most. The budget presented in the House of Commons on February 18, 2003, indicates that “going forward, the federal government and the provinces will need to ensure that, as the welfare wall is overcome, low and modest income families with children who realize greater earnings, for example, by taking up better paying jobs--keep more of the extra money they earn. This will include examining the reduction or ‘claw-back’ rates for the CCTB as well as other elements of the tax and benefit structure that may affect incentives to work and earn income for low and modest income families”.
Svend Robinson NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC
Have Canadian tobacco manufacturers and importers provided reports to Health Canada under the requirements of the Tobacco Reporting Regulations and, if so, for each reporting period since January 1, 2001: ( a ) what is the total expenditure for all promotional activities reported under section 16; ( b ) which sponsored events were reported under section 18; ( c ) which permanent facilities were reported under section 19; ( d ) which services were reported under section 21; ( e ) what is the total payment to retailers and what is the total number of retailers receiving payments reported under section 22; and ( f ) which non-tobacco products displaying a tobacco brand element were reported under section 24?