Debates of Dec. 4th, 2017

Canada Revenue Agency

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, so that is the consolation the government says to people with diabetes, that they lost their $1,500 tax credit but that is okay because the government has given them a committee instead.

That minister's office said the CRA had not changed its decision-making process with regard to the disability tax credit eligibility criteria. Now we have an internal memo that was sent from senior officials in her department to 51 other officials that says that people with diabetes are now excluded.

Why did the minister mislead the House in that matter?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, all Canadians must receive the tax credits to which they are entitled. I am pleased to say that there was a 20% increase in the number of approvals of this credit between 2014 and 2016.

We put in place measures to make these credits more accessible, and they are working. We reduced the length of the application form and we are allowing specialized nurse practitioners to fill out the forms. We will continue to work with the most vulnerable Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, she told the House, “There have also not been any changes to the way the law is interpreted.” She also said, “The rules are the same and apply just as they always have.” We now know, through an internal document released by ATIP today, that an internal CRA memo, sent to dozens of officials, urged those officials to reject all diabetics for the tax credit, except in exceptional circumstances.

Why did the minister mislead the House?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, our government is implementing important measures to help the most vulnerable Canadians.

In 2015-16, our government invested more than $41 million in diabetes research. In budget 2017, we are investing $5 billion in mental health supports for about 500,000 young people. No changes have been made to the eligibility criteria for the disability tax credit, and we are continuing our efforts on behalf of the most vulnerable Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in this memo that went to 51 different officials in her department, the top decision-makers indicated that except for rare circumstances, diabetics were to be rejected every time. The minister denied the existence of any change in the practice or the policy. We now know that was not true. She stated in the House falsehoods, and her department has raised taxes on the most vulnerable people in the country. Why?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, all Canadians must receive the tax credits to which they are entitled. No changes have been made to the eligibility criteria for the disability tax credit. I am pleased to say that the number of approvals rose by 20% between 2014 and 2016.

We have taken action and I will continue to work for the most vulnerable as I have done throughout my life.

Foreign Affairs

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-47 on the Arms Trade Treaty respects neither the letter nor the spirit of the treaty, and it does not even cover exports to the United States, which is why Stéphane Dion's former human rights advisor said that the bill is quite simply inadequate.

In committee, the NDP proposed six amendments to the bill based on expert testimony.

Will the government finally listen to Canadians' concerns, accept our amendments, and fix the flaws in this bill?

[Matt DeCourcey, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague opposite is well aware that committees manage their own affairs. As a government, we are keeping our election promise to join the Arms Trade Treaty.

Regulating the illicit global arms trade is essential to protecting human rights. By acceding to the treaty, we will join our G7 and NATO allies. I am eager to see the bill come back to the House for third reading.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that all sounds nice, but the government is not actually doing anything.

The Saudi-led bombing campaign of Yemen, and its merciless blockade, has killed thousands and left millions of people on the brink of famine. However, Canada has remained silent on the role of Saudi Arabia in this conflict and continues to sell arms to that country, making it potentially complicit in the conflict.

When will Canada show moral leadership and suspend the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia?

[Matt DeCourcey, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we are absolutely committed to an export control system that is rigorous, that is transparent, and that is predictable. Our government is taking steps to further strengthen the export regime. We have allocated $13 million to help Canada accede to the arms trade treaty.

With Bill C-47, which we just spoke of, we are moving forward on a key campaign commitment to strengthen Canada's arms control regime and accede to that treaty. Bill C-47 would allow us to join our G7 and NATO allies by acceding to the treaty and playing a leadership role in regulating the trade of conventional arms around the world.

Ethics

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have a Minister of Finance who was fined by the Ethics Commissioner because he forgot to disclose his villa in France and who is also being investigated for sponsoring a bill that could benefit his family company. We have a Minister of Finance who is still refusing to disclose the many assets he holds in his many numbered companies and who is refusing to answer questions from the opposition and journalists. Most importantly, we have a minister who is refusing to resign.

When will the Minister of Finance resign?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance will not resign today, and I will tell you why.

I will continue with the list that the member for Beauce started. We have a Minister of Finance who helped Canada become the fastest-growing economy in the G7 and who helped create 600,000 jobs in the past two years, most of which are full-time jobs. We have a Minister of Finance who reduced the unemployment rate to 5.9%, the lowest it has been in the past decade. This finance minister also reduced child poverty by 40% through the Canada child benefit and helped almost one million seniors through the guaranteed income supplement. That is what the Minister of Finance has done over the past two years.

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have a finance minister that does not abide by the mandate letter that was given to him by his Prime Minister, along with instructions to honour his mandate and follow ethics laws.

The finance minister is under investigation by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. We should be able to trust our finance minister, but we lost that trust for all these reasons.

When will the finance minister resign?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the member for Beauce knows very well, when they come to Ottawa, every member and every minister is expected to work with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, who has our complete confidence.

The Ethics Commissioner has always worked with the finance minister. She made recommendations, which he followed. He even went further in order to continue the important work he has been doing in service to Canadians for the past two years.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner has her work cut out for her with the Minister of Finance, to say the least. This file must be taking up nearly all of her time.

The Minister of Finance forgot to mention that he owns a company in Provence. He introduced a bill that puts his family business in a direct conflict of interest. Furthermore, he still refuses to say whether he was the one who sold 680,000 shares shortly before he tabled his fiscal policy.

The Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is meeting with the Minister of Finance to ask him the same questions we are asking.

Will the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner also be threatened with legal action?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is an independent and impartial institution, unlike the opposition, which is acting as judge and jury. We trust the Ethics Commissioner, with whom the Minister of Finance has been working from the beginning to make sure he is in full compliance with the rules that guide us in the House.

He set up a conflict of interest screen as soon as he arrived in Ottawa. He announced that he would go even further by placing all his assets in a blind trust and selling his shares in Morneau Shepell. That is what the Minister of Finance has done in the past two years, guided by the Ethics Commissioner.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance's fundamental problem is that he only takes action once he is caught red-handed.

He promised to put his assets in a blind trust, but he did not. Instead he created a company that he sold when he was caught. That is the problem.

He also continues to refuse to answer the question about the 680,000 shares that were sold.

The question is simple: will the Minister of Finance finally get serious about collaborating with the Ethics Commissioner? Instead of keeping this between himself and the Ethics Commissioner, why does the Minister of Finance not publicly say whether he was the one who sold those 680,000 shares?

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

Mr. Speaker, to the question about whether the Minister of Finance will work with the Ethics Commissioner the answer is yes, he always has and always will.

As far as the sale of shares is concerned, the Minister of Finance has never denied that he sold shares when he arrived in Ottawa in November 2015.

What is the opposition member alleging? Is he claiming that the tax measure introduced in December 2015, which was to raise the personal income tax of the wealthiest 1% and lower taxes for the middle class, may have had some sort of impact on a certain individual in the House?

I am trying to understand their argument, the media is trying to understand it, but no one can figure it out.

Indigenous Affairs

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this week, the Assembly of First Nations is holding its special chiefs assembly where a resolution will be presented to reject Bill C-58, the Liberals' effort to gut our Access to Information Act. Today, five chiefs stood with me, calling on the Liberals to fix Bill C-58, since it introduces significant new barriers for first nations trying to access even basic information.

The Liberals like to talk about how the most important relationship is with indigenous people, so will they finally actually consult first nations and fix this regressive bill?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, we have consulted with first nations. In fact, we have received suggestions that include clarification that broad requests, particularly historical records to substantiate indigenous claims, are in fact legitimate and consistent with the act. Further to that, we support amendments to Bill C-58 to strengthen the bill by making it explicit that no department can refuse a request simply because of the subject, the type of record, or that the date of record is not specified. We have listened, and as a result of that, the Information Commissioner—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Timmins—James Bay.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations refuses to explain why lawyers in her department suppressed thousands of pages of police evidence that named 180 perpetrators of abuse, torture, and child rape at St. Anne's residential school and then had the cases thrown out. Now that they have been forced to turn over the documents, she sent her lawyer to superior court to block those survivors from getting new hearings. Why? Who are they protecting? Just how many survivors of St. Anne's have had their legal rights compromised and their cases thrown out because of the legal obstruction of her officials? How many?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I want to be very clear with the member: We are not blocking reopening up cases. We are asking for clarification on what procedural fairness means. The adjudicators have given conflicting definitions of procedural fairness, and we are committed to ensuring justice for the victims of this dark chapter in our history.

Canada Revenue Agency

[Pierre Breton, Liberal, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we know that starting a business takes dedication and hard work.

Business owners must be aware of their tax obligations when it comes to hiring employees, finding facilities, or keeping the books, so that they do not end up with surprise bills from the Canada Revenue Agency.

Can the Minister of National Revenue tell the House how the Canada Revenue Agency is supporting small business owners?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Shefford for her question and for her warm welcome this morning in Granby.

Small businesses are major economic-development drivers across Canada, and especially in our regions. This morning, I was proud to announce a national expansion of the Canada Revenue Agency's liaison officer service. Now, small businesses across the country may request an in-person visit from a liaison officer to help them understand their tax obligations and to get off on the right foot.