House of Commons Hansard #93 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was tobacco.
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition today in regard to the war in the Congo, where since 1998, 5.4 million people have died and where rape is being used as a weapon of war. The petitioners want Parliament to adopt the conflict minerals act, which would cut off the revenues from these militias and bring peace to the east of the Congo.
Laurin Liu NDP Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present to the House a petition to denounce the cuts at Canada Post.
Thousands of people in my riding, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, submitted this petition to me to denounce the elimination of the home delivery service and the increase in the price of postage. I want to thank all the volunteers who helped me circulate this petition.
Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings
Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre Saskatchewan
Conservative
Tom Lukiwski ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, if a revised response to Question No. 341, originally tabled on May 12, 2014, as well as a supplementary response to Question No. 412 and a revised response to Question No. 420, both of which were originally tabled on May 14, 2014, could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled immediately.
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
With regard to commemorations surrounding the 150th anniversary of Confederation, beginning with celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 and ending with the 120th anniversary of the Battle of Leliefontein (in 2020): (a) with whom, including government departments, did the government consult regarding the organization and government spending for the events, (i) on what dates, (ii) what responses were received by the government; (b) how much was spent and authorized to date on each event and program, broken down by department and by program activity, during the fiscal years (i) 2006-2007, (ii) 2007-2008, (iii) 2008-2009, (iv) 2009-2010, (v) 2010-2011, (vi) 2011-2012, (vii) 2012-2013, (viii) 2013-2014, (ix) 2014-2015, (x) 2015-2016, (xi) 2016-2017, (xii) 2017-2018, (xiii) 2018-2019, (xiv) 2019-2020; and (c) how much has been spent and authorized to date for public affairs campaigns, public relations campaigns and information campaigns, as it relates to these commemoration activities for fiscal years (i) 2006-2007, (ii) 2007-2008, (iii) 2008-2009, (iv) 2009-2010, (v) 2010-2011, (vi) 2011-2012, (vii) 2012-2013, (viii) 2013-2014, (ix) 2014-2015, (x) 2015-2016, (xi) 2016-2017, (xii) 2017-2018, (xiii) 2018-2019, (xiv) 2019-2020?
(Return tabled)
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
With regard to contracts under $10,000 granted by the National Capital Commission since January 1, 2013: what are the (a) vendors' names; (b) contracts' reference numbers; (c) dates of the contracts; (d) descriptions of the services provided; (e) delivery dates; (f) original contracts' values; and (g) final contracts' values if different from the original contracts' values?
(Return tabled)
Marc Garneau Liberal Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC
With regard to the government’s Road to 2017 commemoration project and military commemoration program: (a) how much has been spent on these programs and projects since 2013, broken down by (i) department, (ii) amount, (iii) specific pillar or event, (iv) year; (b) how much does the government estimate will be spent on these programs and projects in total between 2013 and 2021, broken down by (i) department, (ii) amount, (iii) specific pillar or event, (iv) year; and (c) with regard to (a) and (b), what program activity and sub-program activity will this funding be allocated from, broken down by (i) department, (ii) amount, (iii) specific pillar or event, (iv) year?
(Return tabled)
Tom Lukiwski Conservative Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK
Mr. Speaker, I ask that the remaining questions be allowed to stand.
The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-10, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (trafficking in contraband tobacco), be read the third time and passed.
The Deputy Speaker NDP Joe Comartin
The hon. member for Winnipeg North has 16.5 minutes left in his speech.
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Mr. Speaker, I especially appreciate the .5, I must say.
I can assure the House that I am not going to spend that much time on the bill. I do want to conclude with a few brief remarks to highlight the fact that we in the Liberal Party are prepared to support the bill as reported today. We do have some concerns in relation to it, but all in all it is a significant step forward.
Having said that, I want to highlight an important issue that I believe is of concern to people in my constituency of Winnipeg North and a number of regions of the country where there are a lot of similarities. That is the importance of looking at the broader impact of contraband and how it is used within criminal organizations.
Contraband has been found to be highly profitable by organized crime and gangs. As a result, this has added to the problems. Contraband seriously impacts communities throughout Canada, and I want to emphasize how important it is that we deal with it.
Contraband cigarettes are just one part of it. Selling illegal drugs, and prostitution are other elements that provide a major source of revenue for gangs and organized crime. We need to do more to deal with this problem, and we are looking to the government today to take some action. We have a piece of legislation in front of us that would hopefully have an impact. I suspect it will to a certain degree. We are asking the government to do even more to deal with the issue of contraband cigarettes and other sources of revenue that are feeding organized gangs.
I will conclude by talking a bit about the demand for contraband, which I made reference to at the beginning of my remarks. The demand for contraband tobacco has increased over the years because of the organized crime element and its ability to make huge profits. One of the reasons that organized crime can make the profits it makes is because of the level of taxation on cigarettes.
As government has recognized, in order to discourage people from smoking, it has increased the cost of cigarettes. As a result, we have seen significant growth in the purchase of contraband cigarettes through the underground and illegal activities. We need to work with the different stakeholders, the provinces and others, to look at ways to beat this serious issue.
I want to pick up on my final point of cigarettes as a whole. We recognize that smoking is detrimental to the health of our citizens. I would therefore suggest that we do more to educate people and encourage them to make the decision to quit smoking, specifically our young people. We should support our students in the best way that we can. We should ensure that anti-smoking programs are included in our public education system.
We need to see stronger leadership coming from Ottawa. Ottawa needs to deal with the different stakeholders who could play a role in minimizing the use of tobacco, whether it is the health element or the tax element. All of this has to be taken in an all-encompassing fashion, so that Canada will be able to deal with the serious issue we are facing today on a number of fronts, recognizing that the bill attempts to deal strictly with contraband tobacco.
However, at the end of the day, we help deal with that issue and it has a serious impact, a positive impact, upon other areas, too.
With those few words, I am quite prepared to end my comments in anticipation. As I indicated, the Liberal Party supports the bill in principle and supports its going forward.
Raymond Côté NDP Beauport—Limoilou, QC
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Winnipeg North for his speech. I am pleased to hear that he will be supporting the bill even though it has some shortcomings. As the hon. member for Gatineau pointed out, it is all a question of implementation. We need to have the means to tackle this issue.
Tobacco smuggling is not a new problem. In the past, unfortunately, we had to deal with extensive smuggling. At that time, my colleague's party was in power, but it did not necessarily do what needed to be done to address the smuggling problem.
I would like to know why he is now supporting the fight against smuggling, when his government's record is less than stellar. Will he take responsibility for past Liberal governments?
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Mr. Speaker, to the member, it is much like if we take a look at the NDP government in Manitoba over the last 10 years and its absolute and total failure in being able to deal with this issue. It goes beyond just one government or one political party. It is not the NDP that owns this issue in trying to make a more positive difference. Governments of all political stripes have attempted and have not done anywhere nearly as well as they could have done.
That is the reason we in the Liberal Party say that we need to have more leadership coming from Ottawa, working with the different provinces, because it is not just Ottawa that is going to resolve the problem. it is going to take a lot more than Ottawa dictating or changing a law. It is going to take a lot more effort, and that means consultation and working with the different stakeholders. There is a lot to be lost if we do not take action on this issue.
As I say, it is not just contraband cigarettes that the criminal element is getting involved in. That is just one aspect. The criminal element is involved in everything from stolen goods, to guns, to prostitution, to illegal drugs, to alcohol. There is a wide selection; this is one component of it. That is the reason there is more of a need to take a holistic approach in dealing with this. I would suggest that Ottawa can and should play a more significant role going forward.
Christine Moore NDP Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Mr. Speaker, I would just like to ask my colleague a very simple question about the process.
When the minister wrote the bill, should he have used a different drafting and consultation strategy than the one that was used to develop this bill?
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Mr. Speaker, when ministers are assigned the responsibility of bringing forward legislation, one would like to think that they do their homework. I do not believe that has happened in this case. I will go back to the previous question, with respect to how very important it is that we work with the different stakeholders.
I was not at the committee hearings, so I do not know to what degree consultation was formally done. From what I understand, the government could have done a much better job at trying to build a rapport with, in particular, the different provinces, in terms of making some of the changes that would complement the legislation.
I do believe that the government could have improved the legislation. There are some aspects of the legislation that raise concerns. Maybe they are judicial independence-related issues or other initiatives that could have been taken, that would have been more of a disincentive for the criminal element's involvement, but, as I say, we have to factor in the costs of cigarettes in society today. There are many different factors.
I am not convinced that the government has done a thorough job in addressing this issue head-on.
Françoise Boivin NDP Gatineau, QC
Mr. Speaker, that is a very interesting comment from my colleague.
As I said earlier about improving the bill, apart from the implications of the Gladue ruling and perhaps the recognition of the principles of that ruling in relation to section 718 of the Criminal Code, this is a relatively straightforward bill that creates offences and imposes certain penalties. There are some complex aspects to it.
I think my colleague is referring to the idea that we need to add more provisions to complement this bill.
What kinds of approaches and consultation, assistance, services or resources could the government offer first nations that are having issues with tobacco smuggling on their land to complement the implementation of this bill?
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Mr. Speaker, we need to recognize the economics also. For many first nations communities, there is a question of economics. To what degree has the government consulted with and worked with first nations communities on this issue? I know it is a very important issue. As opposed to my trying to state a specific position on this issue, I would very much be open to hearing from our first nation leadership as to how they would like to see us, as a nation, move forward in addressing this issue.
Suffice it to say that there has to be some form of compensation or some assistance in developing industries in many of the first nations that perhaps need to rely on this form of revenue when directly or indirectly affiliated with a particular area of our country. As I say, there are very many facets to this issue. What we are really talking about is one relatively minor area, but it can make a difference. I hope it will make a difference.
We could have done so much more if we had taken a more holistic approach. When I made reference to stakeholders, they are obviously a stakeholder with a fairly significant interest, and there should have been more consultation done.
Raymond Côté NDP Beauport—Limoilou, QC
Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague from Winnipeg North that we could have done more for aboriginal communities.
What bothers me is that the Liberal Party was in government for 13 long years before coming up with a so-called agreement that almost seemed like a marketing ploy.
How can my colleague justify having done nothing for so long during all those years instead of taking action and addressing the root of the problem?
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Mr. Speaker, at any given point in time, there are numerous issues that government attempts to deal with. I can recall right offhand, for example, that one of the most comprehensive packages was the Kelowna accord. That involved significant consultations. It brought people of aboriginal heritage from across this land, and they came up with one final agreement that dealt with a wide variety of issues. It was not an easy thing to accomplish, but it was done.
Unfortunately, it was the NDP that ultimately killed that particular accord. There are things that happen through time.