Debates of May 22nd, 2018

Canadian Heritage

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, our government understands the importance of supporting our artists and artisans. We also know that the way Canadians access content has changed over the years. That is why we have invested a historic $3.2 billion in culture.

It is also why we are going to modernize our laws, especially the Broadcasting Act, to better support our artists in the digital era. The Netflix investment is a transitional investment. This five-year agreement guarantees investments that will support our creators while we are modernizing our laws and programs.

Social Development

[Frank Baylis, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, Montreal hosted the OECD social policy forum and ministerial meeting. The forum brought together ministers from the 35 OECD countries, as well as over 350 Canadian and international representatives from business, trade unions, academia and civil society.

Could the Minister of Social Development tell the House how this forum promoted policies that give everyone a real and fair chance to succeed?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to congratulate and thank the hon. member for Pierrefonds—Dollard for his hard work on behalf of his constituents.

At the end of last week's historic meeting, the Secretary-General of the OECD had this to say about Canada: “The leadership shown by the Prime Minister and the Canadian government on social policies that benefit everyone is an inspiration to other OECD members.”

Canada is proud to be a member of the OECD, and Canada is pleased to show other OECD countries how strong and sustainable economic growth can benefit everyone.

Foreign Affairs

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the recent violent confrontations along the Israel-Gaza border have unfortunately resulted in many tragic deaths. One fact is undeniable. The riots that led to these deaths were deliberately orchestrated by the terrorist group Hamas. Unfortunately, last week in a statement, the Prime Minister ignored the involvement of Hamas and instead unilaterally blamed Israel, the most democratic, pluralistic nation in the region.

Will the Prime Minister apologize for his poorly worded statement and join me in condemning the role Hamas played? If so, what took him so long?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Canada, and I am sure all Canadians, deplore the violence in Gaza that has led to a tragic loss of life and many injured people. Reported use of excessive force and live ammunition is inexcusable.

It is imperative that we establish the facts of what happened in Gaza, especially given the shooting of Canadian doctor, Tarek Loubani. That is why Canada is calling for an independent investigation to ascertain how the actions of all parties concerned contributed to these events, including reported incitement by Hamas.

Canada Revenue Agency

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Québec debout, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the National Assembly is unanimously calling for a single-tax system in Quebec to save Quebec taxpayers time and money, but the government has refused to implement such a system because too many jobs would be lost. This confirms what everyone already knows: there is a duplication of work.

This is costing taxpayers $500 million a year, not counting the $150 million Quebeckers pay every year to file a second, useless tax return. It is time to put an end to this waste of money.

Will the government allow Quebec to collect all taxes?

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, ensuring Canadians receive the best possible services from the agency is a priority for us. The agency has more than 4,700 employees in Quebec and is an important economic engine in cities such as Jonquière and Shawinigan. It currently collects taxes from all provinces, territories, and many indigenous governments.

Our government is putting a number of measures in place to facilitate tax filing for all Canadians. We are always open to working with the Quebec government to ensure that service is offered to Quebeckers.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Québec debout, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the Liberals do not care about the expense, but $500 million for a duplication of services is a waste of money and a waste of human resources.

The minister or her parliamentary secretary could loan those employees to payroll services, which seems to need all the help it can get because of Phoenix. They could have those employees investigate companies that are running schemes to hide their money in tax havens. They could have those employees register all the most vulnerable seniors for the guaranteed income supplement.

Why are the minister and her parliamentary secretary insisting on throwing taxpayers' money out the window against the unanimous will of Quebec?

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, as I just mentioned, ensuring Canadians receive the best possible service from the agency is a priority for us. The agency has more than 4,700 employees in Quebec and is an extremely important economic engine in cities such as Jonquière and Shawinigan. It currently collects taxes from all other provinces and territories and many indigenous governments. Our government is putting a number of measures in place to facilitate tax filing for all Canadians, and we are always open to working with the Quebec government to improve the services offered to Quebec people.

Natural Resources

[Erin Weir, Independent, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, last week the government announced that it will indemnify the Trans Mountain expansion. Kinder Morgan had contracted to build most of the project using steel pipe manufactured in Regina, which is cleaner and safer than offshore steel. To support Canadian jobs, will the government make its indemnity conditional upon any potential investor in Trans Mountain upholding the existing commitment to use Canadian-made steel?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, the contracts have already been awarded. This is very important for Canadian industry, but it is particularly important, I might say, for his home province of Saskatchewan and the city of Regina. We are very pleased that the economic development benefits for this project will extend right across the country, and notably in Regina and in Saskatchewan.

Citizenship and Immigration

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

It being 3:09 p.m., the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion to concur in the 15th report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration.

Call in the members.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #666

Committees of the House

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

I declare the motion carried.

The House resumed from May 11 consideration of the motion.

Transportation Modernization Act

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

Pursuant to order made on Friday, May 11, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion to concur in the Senate amendments to Bill C-49.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #667

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

I declare the motion carried.

The hon. member for Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères on a point of order.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am seeking the unanimous consent of the House for the following motion: that the House call on the Government of Canada to negotiate with the Government of Quebec to allow the Government of Quebec to administer its own income tax returns.

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?

[Some hon. members]

No.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-76, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and other Acts and to make certain consequential amendments, be read the second time and referred to a committee, and of the amendment.

Elections Modernization Act

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

I wish to inform the House that because of the deferred recorded divisions, government orders will be extended by 16 minutes.

There are three minutes and 20 seconds remaining in questions and comments following the speech of the hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Democratic Institutions.

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Banff—Airdrie.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the question I would like to ask the member is in relation to this new pre-writ period that is being established. In that period of time, the government is looking to put restrictions upon what political parties can spend, but I have noticed that what the government has not done is to place the same restrictions on itself in terms of government advertising, ministerial travel, and announcements. It claims it has done that, but those restrictions begin on July 23, almost a month after the restrictions on other political parties. Liberals are clearly giving themselves a bit of an advantage, and I wonder if the member would be open to closing that loophole that exists and gives their party some advantage.

[Andy Fillmore, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, the pre-writ period changes we are envisioning, which run from June 30 until the writ is actually dropped, until the writ period proper, are intended to apply to political parties. These are changes to the Canada Elections Act and they do not impact government. That is where that matter stands.