House of Commons Hansard #231 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was firearms.
Andrew Scheer ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister put in an unconvincing performance yesterday.
The Liberals love picking on local businesses, middle-class families, and even the sick. However, when the Minister of Finance and the Liberal bagman try to hide their assets or avoid paying taxes, all we get from the Prime Minister is radio silence.
How long has the Prime Minister known that his chief fundraiser stashes money in tax havens?
Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, our government is fully committed to fighting tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.
In our last two budgets, we invested nearly $1 billion to crack down on tax cheats. Our plan is yielding results. We have had 627 cases transferred to criminal investigations, 268 search warrants executed, and 78 convictions.
The Canada Revenue Agency is reviewing links to Canadian entities and will take appropriate action. We will continue to work for a fair and equitable tax system for all Canadians.
Andrew Scheer ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, while accusing local small business owners of being tax cheats, the Prime Minister has gone out of his way to protect the interests of his rich, well-connected Liberal friends.
The paradise papers expose the Prime Minister's close friend and chief political fundraiser as having sheltered millions of dollars offshore. The Bronfmans are also known for being very effective at lobbying against closing offshore tax loopholes.
When did the Prime Minister learn that his friend and chief fundraiser had these offshore holdings, and that his lawyers had lobbied so hard to protect these tax havens?
Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, our government knows that billions of dollars are at stake. We made an historic investment of nearly $1 billion in the Canada Revenue Agency to combat this problem.
The CRA uses the information it receives through lists disclosed by countries that are part of the BEPS project. That is why the agency, as of September 30, 2017, was conducting more than 990 audits and 42 criminal investigations related to offshore financial structures.
We are reviewing the links between corporations and we will keep at it.
Andrew Scheer ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, like the issues surrounding the Minister of Finance, it is funny that things only start to happen when the Liberals get caught.
While looking out for his friends and insiders, the Prime Minister put a target on the pocketbooks of hard-working Canadians. He accuses local business owners of being tax cheats even while he is raising their taxes, and he turns a blind eye to the loopholes his friends enjoy using. It is almost as if there is one set of rules for the Prime Minister and his wealthy friends, and another set of rules for everybody else.
Why is it that every time the Prime Minister makes changes, it always benefits those in the jet-set life, and it always makes life harder for those in the road-trip life?
Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, I find it rather odd to hear Conservative members say that we are not working on closing tax loopholes when for 10 years their government did nothing about tax evasion. A former national revenue minister, Jean-Pierre Blackburn, even said so publicly.
I find the hypocrisy of my colleagues across the way to be quite something. We have no lessons to learn from the former government.
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The Speaker Geoff Regan
I could ask every member not to make provocative comments, but that would be futile. I would therefore ask hon. members not to allow themselves to be provoked and to restrain themselves.
The hon. member for Richmond—Arthabaska.
Alain Rayes Conservative Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
Mr. Speaker, while the Prime Minister claims that he is making the wealthiest 1% pay, he is paying his Christmas holiday with taxpayers' money, off-loading the deficit to the middle class, and attacking job creators across the country. He is being hypocritical to the point of turning a blind eye to the paradise papers scandal. I almost slipped and talked about the sponsorship scandal.
To be clear, letting one's close friends put money into tax havens and not pay any taxes, is that the Liberals' plan to make the wealthy pay?
Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, our government is strongly committed to combatting tax evasion and abusive tax avoidance and making the tax system fair and equitable for all Canadians.
I am proud that we are playing a leading role on the international stage. Collaboration between tax administrations, including the exchange of tax information, is an essential tool to protect the integrity of Canada's tax base.
That is why, as of September 30, 2017, the Canada Revenue Agency had more than 990 audits and 42 criminal investigations under way focusing on offshore financial structures.
Alain Rayes Conservative Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
Mr. Speaker, I was just about to mention the minister's department. Today, we learned that the Canada Revenue Agency is deliberately failing to disclose how much money is lost to tax evasion each year. However, yesterday, the Minister of National Revenue assured us that everything was under control.
Rather than just talking nonsense, will the Prime Minister give a clear answer for once and tell us how long he has known that his friend, the Liberal Party's bagman, has been using tax havens to avoid paying taxes?
Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, my colleague opposite is the one who is talking nonsense. Our government is committed to combatting tax evasion and tax avoidance, and we are tackling this problem from all sides. In our first two budgets, we invested a historic amount of nearly $1 billion. Last year, the CRA imposed $44 million in penalties on proponents and tax advisers. We are continuing the work that we promised Canadians we would do during the election campaign.
Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Yesterday, the Prime Minister told us that the CRA would be looking into allegations of tax evasion, but he stopped short of confirming that this would be the case for Stephen Bronfman. This is the same CRA that is constantly under fire by tax experts for going hard against everyday Canadians, but for throwing back the big fish. This is the same CRA that forgave the clients who made millions from the KPMG scheme, and this is the same CRA that failed to act on the Panama papers.
When will the minister stop defending the CRA and start standing up for Canadians?
Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, I can assure my colleague opposite that I have a lot more experience in fishing than he does. Our government is committed to combatting tax evasion and tax avoidance, and last year's historic investment of $1 billion proves it. Our plan is working. We had 627 cases transferred to criminal investigation, executed 268 search warrants, and obtained 78 convictions. We promised Canadians that we would get the job done, and no one is above the law.
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, nobody is above the law, but the law is the problem.
We now know that the Liberal Party fundraising chair, Stephen Bronfman, put money in tax havens. He claims that he always acted “properly...including fully complying with all applicable laws”. That is exactly the problem. That excuse sounds awfully familiar to me, actually. Oh right, it is the stock reply we hear from the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance whenever a scandal crops up.
Will the Liberals stop thumbing their noses at everyone and actually do something to fight tax havens?
Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, tax havens are one of the priorities in my mandate letter and a priority for this government. That is why, in the last two budgets, we invested nearly $1 billion, with which we hired auditors and have been targeting four jurisdictions per year. We are working with our international partners to tackle BEPS. Our plan is working. Our initiatives are working. We will continue to work for Canadians, just as we promised.
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, if it were legal to rob a store, putting more police officers in front of the door would change absolutely nothing. The same logic applies to tax havens. We are being robbed, but it is legal. How great is that? The revenue minister's answers are basically spin. The government is not getting at the root of the problem. We need to review and renegotiate our tax agreements with a number of countries.
Will the Liberals reconsider our agreements with tax havens? If they cannot say “yes”, that means they do not want to change anything.
Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, our government is working internationally to combat tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. We are an important international partner in the BEPS project. Our efforts are paying off. When I talk about the 627 cases that have been transferred to criminal investigations, the 268 search warrants, and the 78 convictions, I am not sure what the member opposite does not understand. That is what it means to take action and get the job done.
Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Mr. Speaker, instead of relying on meaningless stats, she should understand one thing. We are lawmakers. Instead of hiding behind the bogus excuse that it felt legal anyway, we can roll up our sleeves and do something about it. We can change the laws. We can especially change laws that allow the wealthy and the well connected to pay less tax than middle-class Canadians. The question is this. Will the government do that or will it block these efforts, as it has done for the past two years?
Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, as I said, our government is fully committed to fighting tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance, which the Conservative Party failed to do for 10 years. A former Canada Revenue Agency minister, Jean-Pierre Blackburn, even said that it was not a priority for his government.
Our government took office two years ago and in that time we have invested $1 billion. We are seeing results. We are working internationally. There have been charges, criminal investigations, and warrants. We continue to work for Canadians and for a fair tax system.
Lisa Raitt Conservative Milton, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the finance minister took great pains this summer explaining that hard-working fishers, farmers, and small business owners were really not paying their fair share and were in fact tax cheats, all the while we had the Liberal bagman and the Prime Minister's close friends stashing $60 million away in the Cayman Islands tax scheme. My question is very simple. Why is the government so adamant to make life more difficult for honest tax-paying citizens and letting its friends off scot-free?
Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, our government is working very hard to combat tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. We have invested nearly $1 billion. We are seeing meaningful results, including warrants, criminal investigations, and even convictions.
We are working on this file, unlike the Conservatives who, for 10 years and even according to one of their own former revenue ministers, did nothing. It was not even a priority for their government.
Lisa Raitt Conservative Milton, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am going to use some numbers, so that the government understands the hypocrisy of what it is talking about. As I said, a Liberal bagman stashed $60 million away in a tax-free account in the Cayman Islands. Let us pretend that this $60 million was put into a passive investment account by a small business person here in Canada. That would be a tax bill of $43 million. Why is the Prime Minister allowing his friends to get off on a tax bill of $43 million?
Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, our government is fully committed to fighting tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. The hypocrisy of the members across the aisle is stunning. Former minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn admitted in an interview—
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