Debates of May 5th, 2021

Digital Services Tax

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to add to my question of privilege from last week. Would allow me to do that now or do you prefer I do it after the vote?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I believe that is scheduled for after the vote. I think there was some agreement reached between the whips and the table, but we will get there.

The House resumed from April 29 consideration of the motion that Bill C-228, An Act to establish a federal framework to reduce recidivism, be read the third time and passed.

Reduction of Recidivism Framework Act

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

It being 3:13 p.m., pursuant to an order made on Monday, January 25, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at third reading stage of Bill C-228 under Private Members' Business.

Call in the members.

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

Vote #107

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I declare the motion carried.

(Bill read the third time and passed)

The House resumed from May 4 consideration of the motion.

Opposition Motion—Allegations of Sexual Misconduct in the Military

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Pursuant to order made on Monday, January 25, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded on the motion of the hon. member for Portage—Lisgar relating to the business of supply.

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

Vote #108

Business of Supply

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I declare the motion defeated.

Message from the Senate

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I have the honour to inform the House that a message has been received from the Senate informing this House that the Senate has passed the following public bill to which the concurrence of the House is desired: Bill S-223, an act respecting kindness week.

Before proceeding, I just want to clarify that I may have given the hon. member for Portage—Lisgar the wrong impression that we would to take her question of privilege after the vote.

The hon. member for La Prairie.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order arising from the comments made by the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands after the motion moved by the NDP. The member said that every digital company is subject to the new legislation. That is wrong. It is false.

Subscription-based companies like Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube Premium are not considered to be covered by this tax. The member made a mistake. I would like the record to show that he told a lie—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I have to interrupt the hon. member. The point of order raised by the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands was bordering on debate, as is that of the member for La Prairie.

We will leave it at that.

Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the 2019-20 annual report of the Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime.

Government Response to Petitions

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 18 petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.

Perinatal Mental Health

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and I believe that if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion:

That,

(a) the House recognize that,

(i) 20% of women and 10% of men in Canada suffer from a perinatal mental illness and rates of postpartum depression have doubled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,

(ii) Black, Indigenous, people of colour, people with disabilities, gender and sexual minority populations experience higher rates of perinatal mental illness,

(iii) a new study by the Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative shows that 95% of health care practitioners believe perinatal mental health services in Canada are insufficient,

(iv) advocates are calling for a national perinatal mental health strategy; and

(b) in the opinion of the House, the government should develop a national perinatal mental health strategy and follow other countries in recognizing the first Wednesday of May annually as World Maternal Mental Health Day.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

All those opposed to the hon. member moving the motion will please say nay.

The House has heard the terms of the motion. All those opposed to the motion will please say nay.

I declare the motion carried.

(Motion agreed to)

Wild Animal Trade

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present today e-petition 3015, which received over 13,000 signatures. This petition notes that 75% of new and emerging infectious diseases affecting human health over the past decade have originated from animals, principally from wildlife, and that Canada's participation in the wild animal trade is something that needs to end to protect both human and animal health and welfare. It notes that it is time for Canada to end participation in this trade, and calls upon the government to protect animal welfare and commit to ending international and domestic trade of wild animals.

Foreign Workers

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today I present e-petition 2990 on behalf of 5,529 online signatories from across the country, plus thousands more on paper, asking the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to address issues around foreign workers, specifically more access to permanent resident status and work permits, and a special program to help support migrant workers and their families in Canada.

Crime Prevention

[Paul Manly, Green, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present e-petition 3218, which was initiated by constituents in Nanaimo—Ladysmith and signed by 1,077 Canadians.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to make Canada safer for all by using evidence-based interventions to significantly reduce violent crime, to engage with vulnerable groups and develop violence-prevention strategies, to establish a permanent office for violence prevention that reports to the Prime Minister, to spearhead action across all relevant ministries in partnership with provinces, territories, municipalities and indigenous peoples, to ensure significant measurable reductions in victimizations, and to redirect the equivalent of 10% of current federal expenditures on policing, courts and incarceration toward adequate and sustained funding for effective local prevention programs.

Travel Advisers

[Chris Lewis, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to present a petition on behalf of 24,000 travel advisers across Canada. The federal government has recently announced funding for Air Canada and Air Transat. One of the conditions is to refund their passengers for cancelled flights. Meanwhile travel advisers, without any income or any government support for over a year, are facing commission clawbacks.

The petitioners are asking the House to ensure the following: that any financial assistance to airlines and their subsidiary travel companies be conditional on the protection of travel advisers, and that any commissions already clawed back be repaid to these travel advisers in a timely fashion.

Conversion Therapy

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table a petition today signed by Canadians regarding the definition of “conversion therapy” in Bill C-6. The petitioners agree that coercive, degrading practices designed to changed a person's sexual orientation or gender identity should be banned. They are also troubled, however, by the broad definition of “conversion therapy” that the bill uses. They are concerned that the definition wrongly applies the label “conversion therapy” to a range of practices, such as counsel from parents, teachers and counsellors, encouraging children to reduce their sexual behaviour.

The petitioners call on the House of Commons to ban coercive and degrading practices, ensure that no laws discriminate against Canadians by limiting the services that they can receive, allow parents to speak with their own children about sexuality and gender, allow free and open conversation about sexuality and sexual behaviour and avoid criminalizing professional and religious counselling voluntarily requested and consented to by Canadians.

All of us in this place must work together to ensure that the bill does not prevent anyone from receiving the support that they deserve from trusted family members, educators, medical professionals or faith leaders.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 554, 559, 563 and 564.

Question No.554

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

With regard to the government's estimation, in the Fall Economic Statement 2020, on the Canada Revenue Agency's (CRA) investments to tackle tax evasion, “It is estimated that these incremental investments have already delivered over $3 billion in additional federal tax revenues assessed”, broken down by fiscal year, from 2016-17 to date: (a) what is the breakdown of the $3 billion in additional federal tax revenues assessed by (i) taxpayer categories, (ii) CRA compliance programs and services; (b) what methodology was used to estimate the amount of $3 billion; and (c) does the federal tax revenue estimate of over $3 billion represent the total amount recovered or is a portion of the amount still being appealed in the courts?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the above-noted question, what follows is the response from the CRA.

In response to part (a)(i), the CRA is unable to provide the information as it is not captured in the manner requested.

In response to part (a)(ii), the CRA is unable to provide the information as there is no formal breakdown of the estimated $3 billion in the manner requested.

In response to part (b), the CRA tracks gross tax earned by audit, for federal tax, and gross revenue impact, for federal tax, plus provincial tax, plus penalties, for all of its compliance activities. In tracking additional gross tax revenue resulting from increased audit resources, the CRA formula tracks the relative increase in dollars over the historical baseline of results.

In response to part (c), the estimate is based on the gross federal amounts reassessed, plus audit changes that impact future revenues, and does not include a reserve for amounts that may be reversed on appeal.