Debates of Feb. 12th, 2018

Veterans Affairs

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, in Corner Brook, Newfoundland; Sydney, Nova Scotia; Charlottetown, P.E.I.; Thunder Bay, Ontario; Brandon, Manitoba; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Kelowna; Windsor; Prince George; all offices were closed by the previous government. All offices were reopened by this government. They were reopened with a new office in Surrey, with a new mobile office for the Arctic. Do not let anybody tell you differently, Mr. Speaker. Those were cuts. Those are offices that were closed which we reopened.

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

I do not think the hon. member for Durham heard me, perhaps. I would ask him not to interrupt when someone else has the floor.

The hon. member for Brossard—Saint-Lambert.

Status of Women

[Alexandra Mendes, Liberal, Brossard—Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, 1975 was declared International Women's Year by the United Nations. Since then, we have celebrated International Women's Day on March 8. This date has become an international day to acknowledge the achievements of women and represents a call to action to advance gender equality.

Will the Minister of Status of Women tell the House how we can celebrate Canada's progress toward achieving greater equality for women and people of all genders this coming International Women's Day?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, feminists like the hon. member for Brossard—Saint-Lambert have shaped our country's history, from the early suffragettes to the activists, advocates, and leaders of today. We appreciate feminism as a powerful global movement for gender equality that has led to progress for women and people of all genders.

This year, the theme for International Women's Day is #MyFeminism. We invite all Canadians to engage in a conversation about what feminism means to them and join us in celebrating the achievements and contributions of women in Canada and beyond.

Public Services and Procurement

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

Mr. Speaker, more than 20 times—

I am sorry. The Liberals are making the babies cry and I got distracted.

Liberal ministers visited Seaspan and Irving more than 20 times, but made just two quick visits to Davie shipyard. Why do they have such contempt for workers? Why, when the shipyard successfully completed its work by the deadline?

When will the minister honour the Prime Minister's words and deliver the ships, the icebreakers, and the Obelix?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, Davie shipyard is an important shipyard. We recognize that it has experienced workers, who did excellent work in delivering the Asterix. After consultations with the industry, the Government of Canada started discussing options with Davie shipyard to see whether it could help meet the needs of the Canadian Coast Guard for interim icebreaker capacity. We are in the initial stages and we hope to provide more information once the discussions are complete.

Media Industry

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, everyone agrees that our print media are facing a crisis. It is imperative that this year's budget include solutions for that sector. Meanwhile, Ottawa is spending less on advertising in our local media, choosing instead to pay over half of its advertising budget to companies like Google and Facebook. I would remind the House that all that money is going out of the country. In other parts of the world, governments support their media and make sure that web giants pay their taxes. Ottawa, however, is doing the opposite and giving the web giants whatever they want.

Why?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, high-quality local and community information is essential to our democracy. We have reinvested in CBC/Radio-Canada, as my colleague is well aware. Since our new investment, some communities that had no coverage in the past now have new journalists. A number of communities in the Magdalen Islands and southern Ontario come to mind. We are also modernizing the Canada periodical fund. Our goal is to ensure that that fund meets the needs of local information venues and local magazines, particularly during the transition to digital formats. We believe that the government must take a targeted approach with regard to the print media in order to protect journalistic independence.

Health

[Bill Casey, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, volunteers and organizations in my riding work tirelessly to help people access home care and palliative care. It is very difficult for them. We made great progress and great advancements in last year's budget in financing home care and palliative care, but there is more to do.

Will the Minister of Health tell us what has been done recently to help organizations that provide palliative care and in-home medical care?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend and colleague the member for Cumberland—Colchester for his hard work on this matter.

As my colleague highlighted, in addition to Canada's health transfer, our government is providing $6 billion to provinces and territories to support better home care and palliative care services. We were also pleased to support Bill C-277.

Earlier today, I was very pleased to announce an additional $6 million in funding to Pallium Canada to train additional health care providers so that they can provide services to Canadians when at home. Bilateral agreements are in the process of being signed, with already two being done and many more to come in the very near future.

Consular Affairs

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal MP for Richmond Hill thinks that Iran has an elected government.

Meanwhile, the Government of Iran continues to show its true colours, this week through the murder of imprisoned 63-year-old Iranian-Canadian academic Kavous Seyed-Emami, implausibly labelled a suicide by the Iranian authorities.

We have heard that a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian. Will the government denounce the killing of this Canadian and repudiate its failing Iran appeasement policy?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs)]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Canadian government and the House of Commons, I want to extend our sympathy to the family of Mr. Seyed-Emami. We are deeply concerned about the circumstances surrounding his death. We call on the Iranian government to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into his death. On behalf of the Canadian government, we are asking for answers.

Taxation

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, starting March 3, the 1% will have two more places to legally hide their money, namely Grenada and Antigua and Barbuda.

That means there are rich people who are going to exploit the system to avoid paying taxes for our hospitals, our schools, and our public services, aided and abetted by Ottawa.

When are the Liberals going to stop working for tax havens and start working for ordinary folks?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, fighting the abuse of tax havens is an important issue for our government. In the last two budgets, our government invested nearly $1 billion to fight tax evasion.

We also decided to tighten the rules for the voluntary disclosures program so that any individuals identified through information leaks do not have access to that program. Instead of accepting an immunity agreement, we believe these people need to face the full consequences of the law.

The Canada Revenue Agency continues to review links to Canadian entities and will take appropriate action to ensure that everyone pays their fair share of taxes.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, catching tax cheats is not the problem. The problem is that the Liberal government is making legal something that is unethical. This needs to change.

In a few weeks, people will be getting their T4s and the government will expect some cheques to come in. Too bad for those who fail to pay the $3,000 they owe the federal government. The Minister of National Revenue will go after them and you too, Mr. Speaker.

Nonetheless, in a few weeks, some very wealthy people will be able to hide their money in two new tax havens with the Minister of Finance's blessing.

When will the government stop giving free passes to those who do not pay their share of taxes? When will this tax unfairness end?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, our government is firmly committed to combatting tax evasion, and we will do a lot more about that than the Bloc Québécois could ever do for the regions of Quebec. That is why we invested nearly $1 billion.

The CRA now has the resources it needs to assess the risk associated with all major multinationals. Every year, we review every transaction over $10,000 in four regions.

As far as offshore compliance is concerned, on December 31, 2017, the CRA audited 1,090 taxpayers and launched criminal investigations—

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. member for Nunavut.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Hunter Tootoo, Independent, Nunavut, NU]

Mr. Speaker, qujannamiik.

My question is for the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.

The Government of Canada has recently recognized the importance and potential of the Arctic region, a region that contains my entire riding. I have had numerous conversations with the minister and have spoken to many of my constituents about the great need for an increased departmental presence in Nunavut.

I applaud the minister's recent announcement to build an inland rescue boat station in my hometown of Rankin Inlet. Will the minister consider taking further steps to increase and strengthen departmental presence in Nunavut?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, our government recognizes the importance of the Arctic in terms of the opportunities it offers for commercial fishing. Budget 2017 included funding to expand indigenous commercial fishing programs to Canada's north. This program will be co-designed with indigenous people from the north, including those in Nunavut. I also want to assure the House and my colleague from Nunavut that our government is looking at a way to enhance the decision-making capacity of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada's north, and I hope to have some good news in the coming weeks in that regard.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of His Excellency Mohammad Pervaiz Malik, Minister of Commerce and Textile of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

Notice of Motion

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 83(1) I have the honour to table a notice of a ways and means motion to introduce an act to give effect to the Agreement on Cree Nation Governance between the Crees of Eeyou Istchee and the Government of Canada, to amend the Cree-Naskapi (of Quebec) Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other acts.

Pursuant to Standing Order 83(2) I ask that an order of the day be designated for consideration of this motion.

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

There being messages from Her Excellency the Governor General written in her own hand, members will want to stand.

A message from Her Excellency the Governor General transmitting Supplementary Estimates (C) of sums required to defray expenses for the federal public administration in the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2018 was presented by the President of the Treasury Board and read by the Speaker to the House.

A message from Her Excellency the Governor General transmitting Interim Estimates of sums required to defray expenses for the federal public administration in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019 was presented by the President of the Treasury Board and read by the Speaker to the House.

Indigenous Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the Agreement on Cree Nation Governance between the Crees of Eeyou Istchee and the Government of Canada.