House of Commons Hansard #236 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was criminal.

Topics

FinanceCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

7:35 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

Is the House ready for the question?

FinanceCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

7:35 p.m.

Some hon. members

Question.

FinanceCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

7:35 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

The question is on the amendment. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the amendment?

FinanceCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

7:35 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

No.

FinanceCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

7:35 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

All those in favour of the amendment will please say yea.

FinanceCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

7:35 p.m.

Some hon. members

Yea.

FinanceCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

7:35 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

All those opposed will please say nay.

FinanceCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

7:35 p.m.

Some hon. members

Nay.

FinanceCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

7:35 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

In my opinion the yeas have it.

And five or more members having risen:

Pursuant to Standing Order 97.1(2), the division stands deferred until Wednesday, November 29, immediately before the time provided for private members' business.

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

The EnvironmentAdjournment Proceedings

7:35 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to rise tonight in adjournment proceedings to pursue a question I asked in the House on June 14 of this year. Adjournment proceedings is what we colloquially call within the House of Commons “late show”. The purpose of adjournment proceedings is to pursue an answer we received in question period that did not completely answer the question.

One of the difficulties with this process is that quite often by the time we get a chance to pursue the answer a great deal of time has passed. I asked this question on June 14, and the Prime Minister's answer was not in any way evasive, but it did not fully respond to what I hoped to hear. Of course, that is not uncommon. However, I now address the question many months later and much has changed.

Let me first review the question I asked June 14, which was in relation to the upcoming G20 summit. There were a number of stories, particularly in the German press, that Canada was backing off full commitment to reference to the Paris accord in the communiqué, which was to be hosted by Chancellor Merkel. The speculation in the German press was that Canada was doing this to appease the U.S. administration. I was entirely pleased that the Prime Minister refuted these claims in the German press and that, in fact, the G20 summit communiqué was strongly in favour of commitment to the Paris accord, even though the U.S. made it clear that at least the executive of the U.S. government did not want to abide by the Paris accord, although it has not legally withdrawn and neither has it withdrawn from the United Nations framework convention on climate change.

Much has changed since then. I have just returned from COP23. The 23rd conference of the parties, in Bonn, took place over two weeks and ended in the wee hours this last Saturday at 7 a.m. As ever, climate negotiations are difficult. However, the negotiations in Bonn were hosted by the government of Fiji, an unusual proceeding, but it was the first time a low-lying island state from the Pacific could actually host a climate negotiation. This round of negotiations, despite the novelty of Fiji and the chair and the efforts by the Fijian presidency to raise the issues of the immediate, existential threats to low-lying island states, were fairly described as minimalistic, workmanlike, and achieved the bare minimum of what had to be done.

Right now, Canada is poised on the eve of taking the chairmanship of the G7. This is an amazing opportunity for Canada at this time, and I will set out why. I am particularly pleased that Government of Canada and the Prime Minister have said that three themes will emerge for Canada's presidency of the G7 and that one of them will be climate. This is also encouraging.

What is not encouraging at this point is the lack of progress and leadership since Paris. I am not pointing fingers at any one government, but there is clearly a lack of leadership globally. Chancellor Merkel has been very damaged by the last election in Germany. I know I speak for many who hope she will succeed in putting together a coalition government to avoid holding yet another election so soon in Germany, particularly in light of the frightening rise of the far right and anti-immigration, in fact, pretty close to Nazi party. We are looking at a situation where obviously the U.S. is not in leadership.

The world actually needs Canada to step up and show real leadership, which means not just saying we are leaders. It means updating our nationally determined contribution, pledging to deeper cuts in carbon, and pledging to better financing. This is the challenge we face tonight.

The EnvironmentAdjournment Proceedings

7:40 p.m.

North Vancouver B.C.

Liberal

Jonathan Wilkinson LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member mentioned, the original question actually related to the G20 and the G20 declaration. As she also mentioned, I am proud to note that Canada worked hard with its G20 partners to reaffirm the irreversibility of the Paris agreement and its strong commitment to take action. A number of concrete measures were outlined in the G20 communiqué relating to that.

Canada remains fully committed to playing a significant leadership role on the international stage with respect to addressing the incredibly important issue of climate change. On an international basis, the One Planet Summit coming up in France will be an opportunity for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada to once again demonstrate Canada's commitment to moving this issue forward on an international basis.

Domestically, Canada has developed, with the provinces and territories, the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change, which provides a path through which we intend to meet or exceed the targets to which we have committed under the Paris agreement.

As we have said a number of times, the focus for us, unlike previous governments, is on ensuring we meet the targets to which we have committed and to the extent that we are able to make progress more rapidly, we will ratchet up our level of ambition.

The EnvironmentAdjournment Proceedings

7:40 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, we have the report now from the Commissioner of the Environment within the Office of the Auditor General. The report makes it clear that at this point, Canada has not been developing plans to meet the 2020 Copenhagen target, and that on current projections, it is very difficult to see how we would meet our target.

Our target is actually too weak to be called a Paris target. It is the same target put forward by the previous government of Stephen Harper. This is not to blame anyone here. There is a global problem, in that if the totality of targets committed to by all governments were fully achieved at the moment, we would still not achieve the Paris target of not going above a 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature increase. We are looking at catastrophic levels of warming, two to three times more than our pledges.

We cannot wait to take the decision to increase the target and develop the plans to meet it.

The EnvironmentAdjournment Proceedings

7:45 p.m.

Liberal

Jonathan Wilkinson Liberal North Vancouver, BC

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows very well, the focus of the government is the 2030 target.

The government was elected in late 2015, and through the course of 2016, it developed, in co-operation with the provinces and territories, the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change. The focus of that document is on achieving the 2030 target. We will be taking concrete measures to ensure that we meet or exceed that goal.

The hon. member is very familiar with the fact that many of the measures contained in the pan-Canadian framework relate to changes in the way that Canadians actually do things, which will require time and thought. If we are going to electrify significant portions of the transportation network, it will take time and infrastructure. If we are going to work towards accelerating the phase-out of coal, it will take time and thought and planning as to how we are going to replace that power.

The government is taking thoughtful and concrete steps to ensure that we are addressing climate change domestically, and we are playing a significant role to push forward the climate agenda internationally.

Public SafetyAdjournment Proceedings

7:45 p.m.

Conservative

Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB

Mr. Speaker, last week it was revealed that the Liberals know that people who have fought for ISIS have returned to Canada. The first response from the Liberals about this was that they were going to provide “reintegration support” for these people. When asked about what this meant, the Prime Minister said that he was working to “ensure that resources are in place to facilitate disengagement from violent ideologies”, and that he was there to “help them disengage from this terrorist ideology.”

The problem with this response is that it fails to recognize that these people left Canada to fight for a terrorist death cult and have perpetrated terrorist attacks around the world, and claimed responsibility for attacks such as the one in Edmonton where a U-Haul van was used to brutalize Canadian citizens; sold Yazidi women as slaves on open markets, with thousands of these women still being held in captivity; perpetrated genocide; burnt people in cages; fought against members of the Canadian military; fought against members of our allies; and regularly and actively threaten and call for violence against Canadian citizens.

The first response of the government should not be figuring out how it will provide “reintegration support” for these people. Its response should be to figure out how it will surveil and contain them to ensure that they do not harm more people and, indeed, bring the full force of Canadian justice against them for fighting for a terrorist organization.

In 2013, our former Conservative government introduced legislation whereby an individual could be charged with leaving or attempting to leave the country with the intent of committing an act of terrorism. Today, the Liberals know there are people who have undertaken this very activity in Canada, and they are failing Canadians, first of all, by prioritizing reintegration support for these criminals and, second, refusing to send a message to the world that if a Canadian goes to fight for ISIS, Canada will punish them. This can be the only response to the Yazidis who have survived genocide at the hands of these people. This can be the only response to our American allies who are eyeing their northern border and wondering why we would do anything other than this. This can be the only response to Canadians who are watching this and wondering why the government is not doing more to keep them safe. This can be the only response to the men and women in Canada's military who have fought to contain this threat. This can be the only response to people and their families who have faced U-Haul vans, suicide bombs, a shooting in their place of work and of their family. This can be the only response to millions of people whose lives have been impacted and uprooted by the vile acts of these people. Any other response is an injustice and cowardice that puts the rights of criminals ahead of the rights of victims and the safety of Canadians. That is wrong.

Therefore, I asked why the Prime Minister is promising reintegration support for these people instead of directing these resources to the victims of ISIS, to our military, and to efforts to surveil and bring these people to justice. Why has the Prime Minister provided two-year old data to Parliament regarding how many ISIS fighters are in the country? Why are the Liberals hiding this information? Why will the Prime Minister not provide more information on why the government is cancelling and revoking passports for people who are travelling?

We should not be sitting here talking about reintegration support, but about how we are making every effort to make Canada and Canadians safe, and to bring these people to justice.

Public SafetyAdjournment Proceedings

7:50 p.m.

Scarborough Southwest Ontario

Liberal

Bill Blair LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and to the Minister of Health

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to rise to speak to this issue today.

Prior to being elected to become a member of this House, I had the privilege of serving as the chair of the national security committee. I also served on the national executive committee of the Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada. I have been very much involved in the combined effort the security services of this country have made, which has been a significant, and I think extraordinary, effort to maintain the safety of all our communities, so I am pleased to have the opportunity to address this. In particular, I am pleased to have the opportunity to reassure all Canadians.

The phenomenon of Canadians participating in terrorist activities overseas and then potentially returning to Canada remains a key priority for our government, and most importantly, for those who have been tasked with keeping us safe. Our highly skilled and professional security and intelligence agencies, which of course include the RCMP, CSIS, and many others across the country, are constantly working to identify, investigate, and respond to any potential threats. They respond using the full toolkit of measures, including the ability to conduct surveillance and lay criminal charges.

I would like to discuss some of those measures, but I would also like to remind this House that when we took office as the government in 2015, 60 Canadians had been identified who had returned from engaging in suspected terrorist activities overseas. Not one of those individuals had been charged during the term of that government. In fact, the previous government cut over a billion dollars from Canadian security services during its last term of office. Therefore, while I am willing to discuss the many ways we must deal with these returning extremist travellers, I would respectfully invite my colleagues from across the House to temper their indignation, in light of those facts.

Among the ways in which security agencies deal with this phenomenon, the RCMP's National Security Joint Operations Centre coordinates with other relevant departments and agencies to ensure a robust response to high-risk travellers. Our National Police Services and other partner agencies pursue ongoing active investigations and do the difficult work of collecting the evidence necessary to bring criminal charges where that evidence exists.

We also have the passenger protection program, under which people who pose a threat can be denied boarding. As well, the Minister of Public Safety has the authority to cancel, revoke, and refuse Canadian passports on national security grounds. In addition, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service is mandated to identify, investigate, and provide advice to the government on the threats posed by returnees.

It would be entirely inappropriate to speak in this House in a public way about the specific operational details of precisely who is being monitored and how that is being conducted. To do so, in my opinion, would undermine these operations and thwart the very important efforts of our security services to keep us safe.

The hon. member and all Canadians should be confident that the agencies have the experience and skill required to deal with this situation. Their expertise is sought out and respected around the world, and it is put to great use here at home to keep all Canadians safe. I would encourage the hon. member to recognize the effectiveness of our security and intelligence services and their expertise in identifying, monitoring, and responding to threats. I encourage her, this House, and all Canadians to put their trust in the professionalism and good judgment of those who are tasked with keeping us safe.

While we do not anticipate a high influx of Canadians who have engaged in terrorism-related activity abroad returning to Canada, this is nevertheless a threat we take very seriously. I am confident that the RCMP, CSIS, and the CBSA also take this responsibility very seriously, as well as all the agencies and law enforcement partners they work with to keep us safe. They are taking the measures they need to take to address any potential threats and to keep Canadians safe.

I wish to assure all Canadians that they have some of the finest and most dedicated professionals looking out for their safety.

Public SafetyAdjournment Proceedings

7:55 p.m.

Conservative

Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB

Mr. Speaker, it was the former Conservative government that put in place legislation to allow criminal charges against people who left the country to commit terrorist acts. It was our government that put in place stronger legislation to prevent terrorist acts from happening here in Canada. It is the Liberal government that is now watering down this legislation. Furthermore, it was our former Conservative government that invested heavily in a new national security framework and the Canadian military, and it is the Liberal government that is doing things like cutting benefits for people serving in Canada's armed forces.

What Canadians want to hear tonight is that the government is going to call it what it is. These people are terrorists. They need to be surveilled. They need to have the full force of the law thrown against them.

The numbers these people are citing are wrong. They are two years old. Tonight, in a Postmedia article, the author said that when he asked for those numbers, the government was referencing two-year-old data. This speaks to the fact that the Liberal government is not taking this threat seriously and is not calling them what they are.

My colleague, who used to be a former police chief, has said nothing about bringing these people to justice. It is all talking points and bafflegab. Why? This government is weak and soft on protecting Canadians from threats of terror.

Public SafetyAdjournment Proceedings

7:55 p.m.

Liberal

Bill Blair Liberal Scarborough Southwest, ON

Mr. Speaker, I might simply remind the member opposite that I have been involved in investigations that locked people up. I was responsible for the Toronto Police Service's involvement in the Toronto 18 investigation.

That said, I want to remind the House that addressing security threats requires a whole-of-government effort. Canada's national security agencies have the capacity for a robust and coordinated response, including preventing extremist travel and managing the risk posed by returnees. Our law enforcement and national security departments and agencies work very collaboratively together and with our global partners to address any threat posed to the security of Canada by any individual.

We are also monitoring broader trends in extremist travel to ensure that Canada's approach responds to current and emerging trends. While we recognize that preventing individuals from becoming radicalized in the first place must be a key part of our defence against terrorism and extremist ideologies, we remain committed to ensuring that our law enforcement and security agencies have the resources they need. Tough talk is not what keeps Canadians safe. It is effective and concerted actions by those who are tasked with security. We are making sure that the RCMP, CBSA, CSIS, and all of their partners have the resources and authority they require to keep us safe.

Talking tough and putting labels on this is not the most effective response. The most effective response is an intelligent approach to preventing these types of offences from taking place, and ensuring that in response to individuals who are identified as risks, we take all steps, not just the enforcement of the law, to prevent them from being a threat to our society.

TaxationAdjournment Proceedings

7:55 p.m.

Conservative

Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government was elected on a promise to grow the middle class and to help grow small business. Instead, Canadians have been left with massive deficits and ever-increasing debt, and a plan that only helps the government's rich Liberal cronies.

Once in office, the Liberals cancelled the planned small business tax reductions and EI tax reductions. They increased payroll taxes and introduced a federal carbon tax. They cut tax-free savings account contributions in half, ended the public transit tax credit, added a new tax on Uber, and raised taxes on beer, wine, and spirits. Then they tried to tax employee discounts and health and dental benefits. They have even raised taxes on Canadians with diabetes and disabilities. In short, Canadians have been bamboozled.

However, it does not stop there. The Liberals then dropped their hot mess of a tax planning proposal that would raise taxes on job creators and entrepreneurs, in a blatant attack on small business owners.

We have heard from the finance minister that hard-working Canadians have to pay their so-called fair share, while well-connected Liberals continue to protect their millions. As it turns out, the personal fortunes of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance are safe from these new tax proposals. They, along with their well-connected cronies, are not going to pay a cent more in taxes.

This is what the Liberals are trying to pass off as fair. I suppose this should not come as a surprise, as the Prime Minister infamously insulted hard-working small business owners during the election by saying that he knows “that a large percentage of small businesses are actually just ways for wealthier Canadians to save on their taxes...”.

On top of all of this, the Liberals have decided that the real problem, the real tax evaders, are hard-working small business owners, whose businesses are actually considered to be too small to be classified as small business. How does that make any sense? We are not talking about millionaire crony, Stephen Bronfman, the Prime Minister's personal friend and the Liberals' chief fundraiser, who was alleged in the paradise papers to be evading taxes. No, the Liberals are targeting small business owners for being too small. I wish I were exaggerating, because it sounds like a comedy of errors.

The Liberals claim they have not changed the active versus passive income rules, but they have issued a new interpretation of these rules that will adversely affect many small businesses, such as campgrounds, by arbitrarily assigning their income as passive income, when the amount of work involved is anything but passive. Many campgrounds and other small businesses are now receiving huge new tax bills, more than three times the rate of other small businesses, simply because they do not have five full-time, year-round employees to qualify for the small business tax rate. Again, the Liberals are trying to tell them that somehow they are too small to be a small business.

These tax bills will put many of these small businesses right out of business. A business that is considered too small should not be a reason to exclude anyone from this tax rate, especially when entrepreneurs are often a part of the daily operations of their small businesses.

Does the minister really have the gall to stand in this place while there is an ongoing investigation by the Ethics Commissioner and to call hard-working mom and pop shops, like campgrounds, tax evaders?

TaxationAdjournment Proceedings

8 p.m.

Brampton West Ontario

Liberal

Kamal Khera LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by acknowledging that our government recognizes the major role of small businesses in job creation and economic development and in growing our middle class. Let me be clear, it is our government that is committed to reducing taxes on small businesses starting next year.

It would seem that my colleague on the other side has some confusion about the rules on how small business deduction applies to campgrounds and I am pleased to have this opportunity to clarify our government's position on this matter.

The hon. member opposite seems to be suggesting that this government has altered the rules. Let me be absolutely clear, the rules remain unchanged.

The small business deduction is a long-standing provision of the Canadian tax system. Generally, eligible businesses can claim the small business deduction on their first $500,000 of active business income. The intention is to provide these businesses with more after-tax income so they can reinvest in their businesses and contribute to Canada's economic growth and job creation.

I would like to remind my hon. colleague across the floor that when his party was in power, consultations with stakeholder partners were held on this specific matter and his government chose not to propose any changes. If the member opposite has a problem with the law, perhaps he should ask his colleagues why they chose not to change it when they had the chance.

As the minister clearly demonstrated the facts on this file in her response to the member opposite's written question, of the over 20,000 small and medium-sized enterprises reviewed by the CRA last year, fewer than 20 businesses classified as recreational vehicle parks and recreational camps were denied the deduction.

Furthermore, the taxpayers who disagree with their tax assessments have recourse. They can file an objection, a process which is described on the Canada Revenue Agency's website. Perhaps the fewer than 20 businesses that were denied the deduction may want to go down that route.

We remain committed to making sure that small businesses have all the necessary information to determine whether they are eligible for the deduction. On its website, the agency provides information about the small business deduction including information specific to campground owners.

Allow me to briefly outline the long-standing rules that apply to campgrounds so that everyone here may understand them more clearly. There are a number of conditions and corresponding requirements under the Income Tax Act that determine a business's eligibility for the small business deduction.

If the business's principal purpose is to earn income from renting out real estate, it is generally not eligible for the small business deduction unless it meets certain conditions. One of the conditions is that the business employs more than five full-time employees throughout the year. Again, I encourage people to visit the Canada Revenue Agency's website where these unchanged rules are explained in more detail.

I want to be absolutely clear that our government is strongly committed to supporting small businesses as we know that they create jobs and help strengthen the economy. Tax fairness for all Canadians is a priority for us.

TaxationAdjournment Proceedings

8:05 p.m.

Conservative

Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB

Mr. Speaker, more of the same bogus talking points I keep receiving over and over again, while what the member should probably do is go back to whoever wrote those talking points for her and let them know that actually, yes, it has changed. The reason we know that is because businesses are suddenly receiving huge new tax bills going back a number of tax years. She cannot stand here and say that things have not changed because those campground owners certainly are not going to believe that.

In terms of the consultations, in the last budget that we put out as the Conservative government, we did initiate consultations. Almost unanimously those consultations indicated there needed to be something fixed in this situation. Then the Liberal government came into power and in their first budget they cancelled those consultations without fixing the problem.

Now let us go back to those bogus talking points again because even the member's own colleagues do not believe those shameful excuses of talking points. The 2017 all-party pre-budget report from the Standing Committee on Finance recommended that rules that target small businesses for being too small should be changed. The recommendation reads, “That the Government of Canada recognize the income earned by campgrounds and storage facilities as 'active business income' for the purpose of determining eligibility for the small business deduction.”

Even the member's colleague, the Minister of Fisheries, knows the rules are unfair when he wrote to the Minister of National Revenue in June 2016 and asked that “the tax treatment of campgrounds be reviewed taking into account their specific circumstances”.

Is the member opposite really going to stand here and say that somehow it is fair to tax campgrounds out of business simply for being too small, while the rich Liberal cronies reap all the benefits of their tax evasion?

TaxationAdjournment Proceedings

8:05 p.m.

Liberal

Kamal Khera Liberal Brampton West, ON

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the hon. member did not hear me. Again, our government recognizes the major role of small businesses in job creation, economic development, and in growing our middle class. I would like to emphasize once again that we have not changed the rules surrounding the small business deduction and the same provisions still apply.

I would remind my hon. colleague that of the over 20,000 small and medium-sized businesses reviewed by CRA, less than 20 businesses classified as recreational vehicle parks and recreational camps were denied the deduction.

Again, we continue to work with Canadians and businesses so they receive the benefits and credits to which they are entitled.

TaxationAdjournment Proceedings

8:05 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 8:08 p.m.)