Debates of June 1st, 2015

Taxation

[Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, NDP, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present a petition today signed by hundreds of women, especially young women, who are calling on the government to remove the GST from feminine hygiene products. It is an unfair tax that categorizes feminine hygiene products as luxury items.

Since we are voting on this tonight, I hope that all of my colleagues in the House will consider the voices of these young women.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present petitions from about 500 members across Ontario who want to petition the government to cease taxation on menstrual hygiene products. The petitioners call for fairness and the elimination of taxation immediately.

Agriculture

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition from a little over 400 Prince Edward Islanders who are demanding that the House of Commons and government respect the right of small-scale family farmers to preserve, exchange, and use seeds. They call on the Government of Canada and the House of Commons to adopt international aid policies that support small family farmers, especially women, and recognize their vital role in the struggle against hunger and poverty; that we ensure that Canadian policies and programs are developed in consultation with small family farmers; and that they protect the rights of small family farmers in the global south to preserve, use, and freely exchange seeds.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, Question No. 1149 will be answered today.

Question No. 1149

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

With respect to Criminal Code section 718.2(a)(ii): since January 1, 2015, (a) in how many cases has this section been used; (b) in how many cases were the people charged released pending their trial; (c) in cases that ended in a conviction, how many people have been charged with committing any other criminal offense following their release; (d) in cases that ended in a conviction, how many people, following their release, were subsequently charged with committing another offense in which Criminal Code section 718.2(a)(ii) applied; (e) in cases where people were released pending their trial, how many have been charged with committing any other criminal offense during the release period; (f) in cases where people were released pending their trial, how many have been charged with breaching any conditions attached to their release; and (g) in cases where people were released pending their trial, how many have been charged with committing another offense in which Criminal Code section 718.2(a)(ii) applied during their release period?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the Integrated Criminal Court Survey does not collect information on purpose and principles of sentencing, therefore information related to the disposition under section 718.2 of the Criminal Code is not available.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, furthermore, if Questions Nos. 1151, 1152, 1160, and 1165 could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled immediately.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Is it the pleasure of the House that the aforementioned questions be made orders for return and that they be tabled immediately?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Question No. 1151

[Mylène Freeman, NDP, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

With respect to all Governor in Council appointments for each year since 2006: (a) what is the total number of appointments made, broken down by administrative tribunals, agencies, boards and Crown corporations; and (b) what is the total number of female appointments made, broken down by administrative tribunals, agencies, boards and Crown corporations?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 1152

[Mylène Freeman, NDP, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

With respect to Status of Women Canada's Action Plan on Gender-based Analysis: for each specific commitment, sub-commitment and identified action, what is the detailed status of the commitment, completion date or anticipated completion date?

(Return tabled)

Question no 1160

[Ted Hsu, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

With regard to the sale of the government's stake in General Motors (GM) common stock, announced in April 2015: (a) which counter-parties were contacted and asked to submit bids, broken down by (i) name of counter-party, (ii) date that they were contacted by the government or its designate, (iii) date of submission of firm, tradable bids to the government; (b) how was the sales price, as reported publicly, determined and calculated; (c) what observed prices, such as close prices or Volume Weighted Average Prices, in the market, were used to calculate the sales price; (d) were any other fees or commissions charged; (e) what conditions were imposed on the winning counter-party, Goldman Sachs; (f) when was Goldman Sachs made aware of the government's intention to sell GM stock; (g) when was Goldman Sachs made aware of the number of shares available for sale; (h) what conditions were imposed on Goldman Sachs’ ability to hedge its purchase of GM stock; (i) was Goldman Sachs permitted to sell GM stock or other auto sector stocks as a hedge of its trade with the government on (i) Wednesday, April 1, 2015, (ii) Thursday, April 2, 2015, (iii) Monday, April 6, 2015; (j) what limits on internal communications within Goldman Sachs were promised by Goldman Sachs to the government or its designate; and (k) what other measures were taken to minimize the transaction costs and market impact of the government’s sale of GM shares?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 1165

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

With regard to Health Canada’s regulations on flavoured tobacco in cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos: (a) what percentage of the total number of consumers for each product are over the age of 18; (b) what percentage of the total number of consumers for each product are under the age of 18; (c) what percentage of each of these products contains menthol; (d) why did Health Canada exempt menthol flavoured cigarettes and cigarillos from the new regulations on flavoured tobacco; and (e) what organizations and individuals were consulted on the decision to exempt menthol cigarettes and cigarillos from the new regulations?

(Return tabled)

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK]

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

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Before we resume debate, I must inform the House that because of ministerial statements, government orders will be extended by 19 minutes today.

The House resumed consideration of the motion.

Opposition Motion—Financial Code of Conduct

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today on this motion, and I will be splitting my time with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport.

Financial literacy is a skill more relevant today than ever. There is no better way to protect consumers than to give them the tools, knowledge and confidence to make the financial decisions that are right for them. Financially informed Canadians are better able to save, to pay their bills and to invest in their future.

Increasing the knowledge of the financial skills of Canadians across the country is why we named November Financial Literacy Month, and why our government continues to support financial literacy and financial literacy events across the country.

The subject of financial literacy has long been a priority for us on this side of the House, because the true costs of uninformed decisions can be substantial. This is true for young Canadians who face increasingly complicated decisions when it comes to applying for a credit card, buying their first car, or figuring out how to pay for school. It is true for our seniors, who must deal with a range of financial products that have expanded greatly and have become more and more complex. It is also just as true for middle-aged Canadians who are saving for retirement.

The ever-changing world we live in makes it difficult for most Canadians, in fact, to understand fully the risks or fees involved in products like savings accounts and loans. It is a critically important subject, which is why our government has been committed to increasing the financial know-how of Canadians since 2006.

We began by establishing the task force on financial literacy and committing additional funding to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada to undertake financial literacy activities. We also amended the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act to provide the framework for the appointment of a financial literacy leader. In April 2014, the Finance Minister appointed Jane Rooney as Canada's first financial literacy leader.

The financial literacy leader' s mandate is to collaborate and coordinate activities with stakeholders to contribute to and support initiatives that strengthen the financial literacy of Canadians. After all, financial literacy is everyone's responsibility.

Financial institutions deal directly with Canadians every day and offer a wide range of tools and resources to help Canadians choose the right financial products for them. The not-for-profit sector has existing and direct connections to Canada's most vulnerable Canadians, and plays a pivotal role in reaching out to these people to deliver financial literacy information and initiatives in their communities. Employer and labour organizations deal with millions of Canadians and have significant opportunities to teach employees about financial matters such as pension and retirement plans.

For Canadians, it is crucial that they take advantage of all of the financial planning tools available to them so they can better participate in today's fast-paced economy. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada has much to offer in this endeavour, including a host of online tools and publications such as “The City”, a web-based program for high school students designed to teach skills integral to financial well-being.

The Financial Consumer Agency's website is the destination for all Canadians looking to enhance their financial decision making. As just one example, it has a valuable tool on its website that helps Canadians in selecting the right banking services for them.

In addition to the work of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, our government has also taken steps to update the existing financial consumer protection framework with several key measures.

We are mandating an effective minimum 21-day, interest-free grace period on all new credit card purchases when a customer pays the outstanding balance in full and are introducing a fee summary box.

We are reducing the maximum cheque-hold period to four days from seven days for cheques of less than $1,500 and are providing consumers with timelier access to the first $100.

We are banning unsolicited credit card cheques.

We are also requiring federally-regulated financial institutions to offer products and services on an opt-in basis only, where consumers have sufficient disclosure about the terms and conditions before accepting, and introducing new requirements for prepaid cards issued by federally-regulated financial institutions requiring them to disclose to consumers relevant information at appropriate points in time.

We are implementing regulations relating to credit agreements and unsolicited credit card cheques, and a new code of conduct dealing with mortgage prepayment penalties.

We are developing measures to enhance the consumer protection framework with respect to network-branded prepaid payment products to ensure that fees be disclosed to consumers in an information box displayed prominently on the product's exterior packaging, and that other consumer-oriented information be provided in a way that is clear, easy to understand and straightforward.

Our government is clearly working tirelessly to protect hard-working Canadians. Just last year, the government secured voluntary commitments from Canada's eight largest banks to enhance low-cost bank accounts and offer no-cost accounts with the same features as low-cost accounts to a wider range of eligible consumers. As a result, no-cost accounts are available to youth, students, seniors qualifying for the guaranteed income supplement, and registered disability savings plan beneficiaries. This action fulfilled a 2013 Speech from the Throne commitment to expand no-cost banking services and to end pay-to-pay policies, as well as an economic action plan 2014 commitment to enhance access to basic banking services.

We are also continuing to take action on consumer issues in economic action plan 2015, with a number of measures to build on our already strong track record in that regard. That includes looking at banning pay-to-pay banking fees as one of the things we intend to include in our mandatory financial consumer protection framework that is in economic action plan 2015.

It would also go beyond strengthening the basic things I just spoke about with respect to banking and consumer protection issues. I will highlight a few quickly. There are so many of them that I could never get to them all in 10 minutes.

We are increasing competition in the telecommunications market by amending the Telecommunications Act to cap wholesale domestic wireless roaming rates, putting an end to cross-border price discrimination by cracking down on companies that use their market power to charge higher prices for consumers, and removing tariffs on baby clothing and certain sports and athletic equipment to help reduce the costs of these goods for Canadian families, just to name a few.

Furthermore, our government is also focused equally on savings and ensuring that Canadians can save to have a dignified retirement. Our government believes that Canadians who have spent their lives helping to build a strong and resilient Canadian society should be able to enjoy their retirement and, most important, that they can save enough funds to be able to sustain their lifestyles in retirement. This is why we took several measures to ensure that seniors could have a dignified retirement.

For example, we increased benefits through the old age security program's guaranteed income supplement for Canada's most vulnerable seniors. This investment of roughly $300 million each year improves the well-being of approximately 680,000 seniors across Canada, and represents the largest increase to the guaranteed income supplement for the lowest-income seniors in a quarter century.

We have also improved the tax rules for registered pension plans and registered retirement savings plans, and increased the age limit for maturing savings in plans to 71 from 69, allowing seniors to make further contributions and accrue greater retirement savings. More recent, economic action plan 2015 proposed to adjust the RRIF minimum withdrawal factors that would apply in respect of ages 71 to 94 to better reflect more recent long-term historical real rates of return and expected inflation.

Furthermore, we have introduced pooled registered pension plans for the more than 60% of Canadians who do not have access to a workplace pension plan. PRPPs will be of particular help to employees of small and medium-sized businesses that until now have not had access to low-cost private pension options.

Our government's actions clearly demonstrate our dedication to promoting an ideal economic environment for all Canadians. This includes equipping Canadians to make informed decisions that strengthen their own personal finances and support the economy as a whole.

[Dany Morin, NDP, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, can my colleague tell me why the Conservative government did absolutely nothing for so long?

Over the past few years, the middle class has suffered additional abuse. It is being gouged. Unfortunately, the Conservative government did not appear very receptive. Even if it had been receptive, in concrete terms, it did nothing to change any laws or regulations.

Why has the government done nothing for so long? I still have a hard time understanding that, because it seems to me that doing something about this issue just makes sense.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have to wonder if the member has been sleeping for the last nine years. I find it difficult to imagine him making a statement such as that. I outlined just a few measures in my speech, but I could go on for the remainder of the time very easily and still only be part way through the measures.

We have already taken a number of measures to protect Canadians from banking practices, such as obtaining commitment from banks to end pay-to-pay practices for bills in the mail, implementing low cost bank accounts, expanding no cost banking options for more than seven million Canadians. It certainly does not sound like nothing to me.

I could go on with consumer measures as well. There is a whole host of them. The Consumer Products Safety Act, which helps protect Canadians from dangerous products, is a good example of that. I could talk about stronger labelling requirements on things like tobacco packaging to help prevent marketing aimed at youth.

We could go back to some of the issues with financial institutions as well, such as doubling the maximum fine on financial institutions that violate consumer protection provisions, banning negative option billing for financial products, requiring greater disclosures of mortgage prepayment charges, and that is just a few.

I have to wonder where the member has been for the last nine years.