Debates of Nov. 9th, 2017

Taxation

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, the government is firmly committed to combatting tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. In our last two budgets, we allocated nearly $1 billion to doing just that. Our plan is working. There have been 627 cases transferred to criminal investigation, 268 search warrants executed, and 78 convictions. We are continuing to work on this for all Canadians. Everyone must pay their fair share.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have another number for the minister: 22.

Twenty-two is the number of agreements the Liberals have with tax havens, and they are not lifting a finger to do anything about it. An article in this morning's Le Devoir states:

When will the Liberal government finally cancel the tax treaties that allow a Canadian company registered in Barbados to avoid paying taxes here....When will it finally get tough on Canadian banks that earn some of their profits through their activities in tax havens in the south...

Those are excellent questions. Are the Liberals doing nothing because that is better for their millionaire friends on Bay Street? Is that what is going on here?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, our government is well aware that billions of dollars are at stake. We have made historic investments to the tune of $1 billion in our last two budgets. The CRA uses the information it receives through lists disclosed by its partners in the OECD and the BEPS project, which the agency is part of. That is why, as of September 30, 2017, the agency was conducting more than 990 audits and 42 criminal investigations related to offshore financial structures. We—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. member for Provencher.

Ethics

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, new Liberal ethical lapses seem to surface almost weekly, and they are not just islands unto themselves. The finance minister hid his Morneau Shepell shares for almost two years. He hid his French corporation, and though he was found guilty and fined by the Ethics Commissioner for that, he still holds numerous numbered companies.

Will the finance minister clarify for us today what other conflicts are lurking in the muddy waters of these other numbered companies?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned time and again in the House, the finance minister, when he arrived in Ottawa as an elected parliamentarian, did what is expected of all parliamentarians and all ministers. He met with the Ethics Commissioner. He has always followed her guidelines. He made sure he was in compliance with the rules. He mentioned recently that he would even go above and beyond that, by divesting himself of all shares in Morneau Shepell and placing all of his assets in a blind trust.

The measures he put in place when he arrived were the ones recommended by the Ethics Commissioner, which were good enough for members on the other side of the aisle while they were in government; good enough for the member for Milton; and good enough for Denis Lebel, which was to put in place a conflict of interest screen, which has been in place, and is in place.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are fed up. Everywhere they look more Liberals are displaying their lack of ethics. What bothers them most is that the Minister of Finance, the person responsible for our country's budget, is hiding his assets in numbered companies. He hid his Morneau Shepell shares for two years. He never disclosed that he owns a company in France. He was found guilty by the commissioner, and more importantly by all Canadians, and he had to pay a fine. How many more conflicts might we find in the rest of his numbered companies?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has always worked in full transparency with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner and followed her recommendations. That is what is expected of every parliamentarian on all sides of the House. He announced that he would go even further and put all his assets in a blind trust, divest himself of his shares in Morneau Shepell, and make a charitable donation of the difference in value of his shares between October 19, 2015 and now.

The Conservatives are only trying to distract from their poor record on the economy. What they do not want to talk about is the good record of the Minister of Finance, who created 500,000 jobs in two years and has given us the strongest growth of the past 10 years. That is not something they can brag about because for 10 years they had the worst performance in every respect.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after the finance minister spent the summer attacking small business owners, it has become crystal clear that the Liberals are the party of the privileged and that there are two sets of rules. There are rules for them and rules for the rest of us.

While the minister hid his foreign corporation from the Ethics Commissioner, Liberal insiders were hiding their wealth in a complex web of offshore tax havens. Middle-class Canadians, and those working hard to join it, do not try to hide things from the tax man. They cannot afford it.

Why does the minister not publicly disclose what is in all of his numbered companies?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I will reiterate that the finance minister has done what is expected of all parliamentarians. He has worked with the Ethics Commissioner, in whom we have the utmost trust to provide the right path forward for parliamentarians, for parliamentary secretaries, and ministers. That is what he has done in putting in place a conflict of interest screen, a measure that the Ethics Commissioner saw as the best compliance measure possible, a measure that was good enough for members on the opposite side while they were in government. Now, the finance minister has announced that he will go above and beyond her recommendations to continue the important work he has been doing for two years for Canadians.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the minister keeps saying he has disclosed all of his assets, but he told everyone two years ago that he had placed all of his assets in a blind trust. He told the media, Parliament, and even members of his own caucus that he had a blind trust, but we know that was not the truth.

Now he is asking us, once again, to blindly trust him. However, if he really wants to repair the trust he has broken with Canadians, the solution is simple. He should shine a light on what is in all of his numbered companies. Why is that so hard?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, in this Parliament we have an institution, the Ethics Commissioner, whose mandate is to provide the right path forward to protect the integrity of Parliament by providing recommendations to make sure that all members follow the rules. The finance minister, when he was first elected two years ago, met with the Ethics Commissioner, disclosed all of his assets to her, followed the path she set forward, put in place a conflict of interest screen, and has focused for the last two years on serving Canadians and the public. He has helped to grow this economy at a faster rate than they ever could achieve in two years. I fully understand why they do not want to talk about their record and the finance minister's record, because when one compares the two, it is clear who is doing the better job.

Taxation

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has gone on the hunt for wealthy tax cheats, but skipped right over his finance minister, who had hidden interests in France and Barbados, and skipped over his chief fundraiser in the Liberal Party, who is linked to a $60-million tax haven in the Caribbean, but he did find diabetics, and farmers, and now special forces soldiers.

When will Sherlock Holmes over there realize that if he is looking for wealthy tax dodgers, they are all around him?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I do not think there is a Sherlock Holmes in the House, and of course if there were, we would not refer to him by name. I ask members to remember to address their questions to the Chair, but to mention the minister they are addressing too, if possible. If they do that, it would be fine.

I see the hon. Minister of National Revenue rising to respond.

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition member's comments are complete nonsense. I would even go so far as to call them irresponsible. No one is interfering with the agency's work. Our government is fully committed to fighting tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.

In our last two budgets, we invested nearly $1 billion. How strange it is to hear the Conservatives talk about how important these issues are, given that they made no such investment when they were in power. The Globe and Mail reported in 2014 that the Conservatives had eliminated the positions of 50 senior managers responsible for international files.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that this minister is hiring a lot of tax collectors. The problem is that they are going after the wrong people—diabetics, farmers, and small business owners—not the real tax cheats. As for her comment that no one is interfering with the CRA, well, maybe no one except the Prime Minister and her. She wrote a letter on July 31, in which she said that type 1 diabetics are unlikely to qualify for the disability tax credit even when their doctors certify they are diabetic.

Will she withdraw that letter and tell her department to give diabetics back their tax credit?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that all Canadians receive the credits and benefits they are entitled to.

The eligibility criteria for this credit have not changed. It is important to recognize that far too many Canadians are struggling and need help. That is why our government has always taken a compassionate approach and helped those in need. Here is what we have done. We have simplified the forms and hired specialized nurse practitioners. We are doing everything we can to help people.

Veterans

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, veterans are on the Hill to ask the Liberals to keep their election promise and give them a full pension.

These veterans were betrayed by the Conservatives and disappointed when the Liberals brought them back to court, after promising to do better. In 2015, the Liberals voted in favour of an NDP motion that indicated that Canada has a sacred obligation to our veterans.

Will the Liberals keep their promise, provide full pensions, and once again recognize that Canada has a sacred obligation to veterans?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, yes, we do have a sacred obligation to veterans who have a hard time when they return home. We will help them. We demonstrate that every day with the services and benefits we offer veterans and their families.

We will deliver on our promise of a pension for life, and we will have more details about that later this year.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the current government has repeatedly promised to bring back veterans' pensions, yet it continues to deny that it owes a sacred obligation to our veterans. In fact, the Liberals hired the same lawyers as the Conservatives before them, and have taken these veterans right back to court. So much for their words.

The Prime Minister has a choice. Will he keep his promise and bring back the full pension or will he continue to deny the sacred obligation we owe Canada's veterans?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, to be clear, we did not take these veterans to court. The Equitas litigation deals with issues that are addressed in the minister's mandate, including re-establishing lifelong pensions as an option. Unlike the Conservatives across the way, who could have addressed veterans' concerns while in office, we will deliver on our promise of a pension for life.

Taxation

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the revenue minister to release valuable information so that Canadians can understand how widespread the problems are with the disability tax credit for diabetics. The minister totally evaded my question. When it comes to the disability tax credit, Diabetes Canada has said that “nobody's being targeted the way people with diabetes” are. When will the revenue minister do her job, release the data on the disability tax credit, and come clean with Canadians suffering from diabetes?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that everyone receives the tax credits and benefits they need and are entitled to. We are moving forward with a national disability act that will remove barriers and improve access for all Canadians living with a disability.

We have made tax credits more accessible. For the past two years, amounts have continued to rise. We simplified the forms and hired specialized nurse practitioners, and we are even allowing them to fill out the forms.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if the Minister of National Revenue is saying that payments have increased, why is it that a constituent from Sainte-Justine who used to get a disability tax credit no longer qualifies for a registered disability savings plan, according to the CRA?

The Prime Minister gave me his word that the Minister of National Revenue and the Minister of Health would follow up on this case.

What progress has the minister made on the case of my constituent from Sainte-Justine who has diabetes, who is worried, who unfortunately is not a friend of the Prime Minister's, and who has no tax haven in the Caribbean?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that everyone receives the tax credits and benefits they are entitled to. The eligibility criteria for the tax credit have not changed. My colleague opposite knows very well that all personal information held by the CRA is strictly confidential. I will not discuss any individual in the House today or at any time during our term in office.