Debates of March 28th, 2013

Sex Selection

[John Weston, Conservative, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is a great honour to rise on behalf of hundreds of constituents in the riding of West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country who condemn what they call a reprehensible practice, which targets baby girls for female gendercide.

It is particularly important, given that the motion introduced by the member for Langley may not be heard in the House, that their voices be heard on the matter.

The Environment

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table another petition with respect to requesting to restore the Great Lakes water level. The petitions are signed by many people from Manitoulin Island, including Silver Water, Michael's Bay, Ice Bay, Bay of State, Kagawong, Sheguiandah, Tehkummah and Sagamok. Sagamok is not on Manitoulin, but these people are also concerned because the water level affects them as well. The petition is also signed by people from North Bay, Lively, Sudbury, Corbeil, Hamilton and Ohsweken, among others.

The petition talks about the fact that since 1999, the water level in Lake Huron has dropped four to five feet, with no sign of rebounding 13 years later. As we can imagine, the economic impact of such a drop is serious as these communities rely a lot on tourism, cottaging and boating. As for their day-to-day activities, some of the homeowners are having difficulties with their water lines as well.

They are asking the Canadian federal ministers of natural resources, environment, fisheries and transport to increase their efforts significantly to halt and reverse the ongoing loss of water from the Great Lakes basin in general and the Lake Huron-Michigan-Georgian Bay-North Channel basin in particular.

Elections Canada

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I bring forward a petition today signed by many of my constituents and other people from Winnipeg. They are calling upon the government and members of Parliament to immediately enact legislation that will give Elections Canada the ability to restore public confidence in Canada's electoral process.

This is most interesting given the report yesterday in which Elections Canada clearly indicated that it needs more ability to compel testimony, among other things.

The Environment

[Mike Sullivan, NDP, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I present a petition signed by Canadians from Toronto and all over northern and southern Ontario requesting that the Canadian federal ministers of natural resources, environment, fisheries and transport increase their efforts significantly to halt and reverse the ongoing loss of water from the Great Lakes basin in general and the Lake Huron-Michigan-Georgian Bay-North Channel basin in particular.

The ongoing loss of water has resulted in a drop of four to five feet in water level, with no sign of rebounding and it has caused serious economic, health and safety concerns to the residents of these areas.

Questions on the Order Paper

[David Anderson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 1183, 1185 and 1186.

Question No. 1183

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

With regard to the Prime Minister’s statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday, January 30, 2013, when he stated that “job creation and economic prosperity are our top priorities. In fact, the Canadian economy has created more than 900,000 net new jobs since the end of the recession. That is the best record of all G7 countries.”: (a) what is the statistical breakdown of the job numbers that support those claims; (b) for the period from July 1, 2009, to March 1, 2013, out of the 900,000 net new jobs the government states have been created, how many of the positions were filled by temporary foreign workers, (i) how many were part-time positions (fewer than 30 hours per week), (ii) how many were indeterminate positions (permanent, full-time), (iii) how many were specified term contracts positions (contracts of six months or less), (iv) what percentage of the positions paid above minimum wage, (v) how many jobs were lost during that period; and (c) for the period from January 1, 2006, to March 31, 2013, how many net new jobs were created, (i) how many of the positions were filled by temporary foreign workers, (ii) how many were part-time positions (fewer than 30 hours per week), (iii) how many were indeterminate positions (permanent, full-time), (iv) how many were specified term contracts positions (contracts of six months or less), (v) what percentage of the positions paid above minimum wage, (vi) how many jobs were lost during that period?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), please be advised that due to 50,700 net new jobs created in February 2013, Canada’s economy has now created over 950,000 net new jobs since July 2009. This represents the strongest job growth among G7 countries over the recovery, as the employment gain over the recovery in Canada represents an increase of 5.7%, which is above the U.S., 4.4%; Germany, 3.6%; the United Kingdom, 3.2%; Japan, 0.5%; France, 0.5%; and Italy, where employment is still declining.

With regard to (b), additionally, more than 90% of all jobs created since July 2009 have been in full-time positions, and close to 80% are in the private sector. Moreover, more than two-thirds of the new jobs are in industries with above-average wages, above $23.65 per hour in 2012. Less than 9% of all jobs created since July 2009, or 82,800 positions, have been in part-time positions.

With regard to (c), since January 2006, close to 1.5 million net new jobs have been created in Canada, which also represents the strongest job growth among G7 countries over that period. Of these jobs, 75% are full-time positions and 70% are in the private sector and in high-wage industries. In contrast, 25% of all jobs created since January 2006 have been in part-time positions.

The information referenced above is outlined in the publicly available labour force survey from Statistics Canada. To further familiarize themselves with the labour force survey, members may consider visiting http://www.statcan.gc.ca.

The labour force survey does not collect data related to temporary foreign workers.

Question No. 1185

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

With regard to advertising by the government during the broadcast of the Academy Awards on February 24, 2013: (a) what was the total cost for advertising; and (b) what was the cost for each advertisement shown?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the Government of Canada purchased airtime during the broadcast of the 85th Academy Awards on CTV--one 30-second spot for Finance Canada’s economic action plan campaign and two 15-second spots for Canada Revenue Agency’s tax relief measures campaign. The network aired one additional 15-second tax relief ad free of charge.

With regard to (b), the Government of Canada does not disclose information about the specific amounts paid for individual ad placements or the amounts paid to specific media outlets. This information is considered third party business sensitive and is protected under subsection 20(1) of the Access to Information Act.

Question No. 1186

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

With regard to the program that has government employees visiting recipients of Employment Insurance: (a) what is the rationale for this program; (b) when was this program created; (c) what are the specific locations the program is being run from; (d) what is the process by which these locations were chosen to do the house calls; (e) what is the total cost to taxpayers of this program, including the total cost for all travel and meal expenses for each employee; (f) which program activity does the funding for this program come from; (g) was any document review, literature review, expert and key informant interview, survey, case study, qualitative or quantitative analysis, or cost-effectiveness analysis conducted to support creating the program, and if so, what are the details of these documents; and (h) what scripts, instructions or guidelines did each employee of this program use?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), as part of its mandate, Service Canada’s Integrity Services branch undertakes various measures to ensure the integrity of programs, including performing random reviews of client files to validate the accuracy of client information and to ensure that clients continue to receive the right benefits, at the right time, for the intended purpose. Employment Insurance, EI, claimants have a responsibility to meet the eligibility requirements as set out in the Employment Insurance Act and Regulations. Failure to meet the said requirements may result in overpayments and penalties.

With regard to (b), for more than 40 years, Service Canada has had an integrity function, which has played an ongoing role in ensuring that clients receive the benefits to which they are entitled. A specific review, referred to as the employment insurance stewardship review, started in January 2013 and will end in March 2013.

With regard to (c), 1,200 EI claimants from across Canada were randomly selected. Integrity Services staff are assigned to work on these files throughout the country.

With regard to (d), the 1,200 EI claimants from across Canada were randomly selected.

With regard to (e), this review is considered part of the ongoing operations for Integrity Services.

With regard to (f), EI integrity operations are funded from the EI operating account.

With regard to (g), review activity conducted by the Integrity Services branch is based upon a wide range of best practices and experiences. Specific considerations for the development of the EI stewardship review include analysis of past activities internal to the department, such as the stewardship review for Canada pension plan and old age security performed in 2010; review of best practices from other countries via membership in the Six Countries Fraud International Consortium, now known as The Windsor Arrangement for Mutual Co-operation on Benefit Fraud between the Heads of Department of the Six Countries; and partnership with the Office of the Auditor General to develop and initiate measurement of payment accuracy.

With regard to (h), departmental investigative methods and materials used to conduct this work are classified Protected B and are not available for distribution.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[David Anderson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, if Questions Nos. 1108, 1170 and 1225 could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled immediately.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Question No. 1108

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

With regard to the May 29, 2012, announcement of the closure, to the public, of the visa section of the Canadian Consulate General in Buffalo: (a) how many permanent resident visa applications were transferred to Ottawa (i) in total, (ii) broken down by type of visa application, including Federal Skilled Worker, Quebec Skilled Worker, Provincial Nominee Program, Federal Investor Program, Self-employed Class, Quebec Business Class, Canadian Experience Class, Entrepreneur Class, Permanent Resident Class, Family Class, and other classes of application; (b) how many of the total permanent resident visa applications that were transferred to Ottawa have been fully processed as of (i) May 29, 2012, (ii) June 29, 2012, (iii)July 29, 2012, (iv) August 29, 2012, (v) September 29, 2012, (vi) October 29, 2012, (vii) November 29, 2012; (c) how many of the permanent resident visa applications that were transferred to Ottawa have been fully processed, broken down by type of application including Federal Skilled Worker, Quebec Skilled Worker, Provincial Nominee Program, Federal Investor Program, Self-employed Class, Quebec Business Class, Canadian Experience Class, Entrepreneur Class, Permanent Resident Class, Family Class, and other classes of application; (d) how many of the total permanent resident visa applications that were transferred to Ottawa have been fully processed as of (i) May 29, 2012, (ii) June 29, 2012, (iii)July 29, 2012, (iv) August 29, 2012, (v) September 29, 2012, (vi) October 29, 2012, (vii) November 29, 2012; (e) how many of the total permanent resident visa applications that have been transferred from Buffalo to Ottawa required medical examination results; (f) of the total permanent resident visa applications that have been transferred from Buffalo to Ottawa that required medical examination results, (i) how many more exceeded the 12-month validity period of the medical examination results, (ii) how many more can be reasonably expected to exceed the 12-month validity period of the medical examination results; (g) what kind of provisions has or will Citizenship and Immigration Canada make for permanent resident applicants that have seen the validity of their medical examination results expire as a result of the delays in processing that have arisen from the transfer of applications from the Buffalo to the Ottawa office, in particular for those applicants that already have a job waiting for them and in general for other applicants; (h) how many calls and emails has the department received regarding the delays that have resulted from the transfer of applications from the Buffalo to the Ottawa office, broken down by (i) inquiries regarding the status of an application due to delays in applications processing, (ii) complaints regarding the status of an application due to delays in applications processing; and (i) what is the value of Budget 2012 cuts reflected in the closure of the Buffalo office in (i) personnel reductions, measured in full-time equivalence, (ii) service level impacts?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 1170

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

With regard to overseas tax evasion for the period from February 6, 2006 to September 30, 2012: (a) how many Canadians have been identified as having undeclared overseas bank accounts; (b) how many accounts have been identified; (c) how many identified Canadians have availed themselves of the Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA); (d) how many identified Canadian accounts have settled with the CRA; (e) how much money has the CRA assessed as a result of investigating these secret overseas bank accounts (i) in unpaid taxes, (ii) in interest, (iii) in fines, (iv) in penalties; (f) how much of the money in (e) has been collected; (g) how many of the cases are under appeal; (h) how many cases remain open; (i) how many more cases does the CRA anticipate will be opened; (j) how many cases have been closed (i.e. the full amount of taxes, interest, fines and penalties has been collected); (k) how much money in (j) has been collected (i) in unpaid taxes, (ii) in interest, (iii) in fines, (iv) in penalties; (l) how many account holders in the cases have made partial payment; (m) of the partial payments made, (i) what was the largest amount, (ii) what was the smallest amount, (iii) what was the average amount; (n) how much does the CRA anticipate it has yet to collect (i) in taxes, (ii) in interest, (iii) in fines, (iv) in penalties; (o) of the amounts of money contained in overseas accounts declared or discovered by CRA (i) what was the largest amount, (ii) what was the smallest amount, (iii) what was the average amount; (p) how many of the identified Canadians with overseas bank accounts (i) have had their account(s) audited, (ii) have had their account(s) reassessed, (iii) have been the subject of a compliance action; (q) how many of the identified Canadians with overseas bank accounts (i) have not had their account(s) audited, (ii) have not had their account(s) reassessed, (iii) have not been the subject of a compliance action; (r) how many tax evasion charges were laid; (s) has the government made any changes to the VDP in the past 24 months; (t) how many Canadians have been convicted of tax evasion; and (u) how many Canadians have been convicted of tax evasion related to money and other assets held overseas?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 1225

[Scott Andrews, Liberal, Avalon, NL]

With regard to the March 11, 2013, announcement regarding broadband improvements for Labrador communities, what are all the costs associated with the event, including (i) writing, translating, and transmission of press releases, (ii) printing, (iii) production of backdrops, banners, or other visual material, (iv) travel and accommodation for any participants, (v) rental of equipment or facilities, (vi) any other costs?

(Return tabled)

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that the remaining questions be allowed to stand.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

The House resumed from March 18 consideration of the motion that Bill S-9, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, be read the third time and passed.

Nuclear Terrorism Act

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

The hon. member for Manicouagan has eight and a half minutes left for questions and comments.

The hon. member for Chambly—Borduas.