House of Commons Hansard #93 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was guns.

Topics

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Gaspésie—Les-Îles-de-la-Madeleine Québec

Liberal

Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue

Mr. Speaker, as I said, I cannot comment on specific cases.

My colleague should know that the Canada Revenue Agency is independent, and that we do not interfere with or direct investigations.

PassportsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Bloc

Louise Chabot Bloc Thérèse-De Blainville, QC

Mr. Speaker, the situation at passport offices is getting out of hand. According to TVA, at the end of the ordeal, the lucky ones who do get their passports at Guy-Favreau complex in Montreal are still being charged extra fees. Despite the minister's instructions today, people are being charged $110. Despite the minister's instructions, the federal government is making Quebeckers and Canadians pay for its mistake. The minister has no control over her department.

When will she finally ensure that people can get their passports without extra fees?

PassportsOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Burlington Ontario

Liberal

Karina Gould LiberalMinister of Families

Mr. Speaker, once again, I will tell my colleague that the instruction given to all Service Canada employees is that if passports are issued outside the standard service times, there is no additional charge. We will say it again. It is clear and the directive has been given across the country. We are going to make sure it is enforced on the ground.

PassportsOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Bloc

Louise Chabot Bloc Thérèse-De Blainville, QC

Mr. Speaker, nothing is clear these days. People are being treated like cattle at passport offices. Instead of managing the crisis effectively, security officers at the Guy-Favreau complex reportedly threw out a journalist who was reporting on the line-ups.

If things are so bad that they cannot be shown on TV, the answer is not to kick out the media. The answer is to do a better job of managing the crisis.

When will the government extend hours of operation, reassign public servants, treat citizens with respect and ensure that everyone gets their passport?

PassportsOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Burlington Ontario

Liberal

Karina Gould LiberalMinister of Families

Mr. Speaker, the situation in Montreal is completely unacceptable. I have heard about this situation and it is clearly not what should be happening.

I assure my colleagues that anyone in Montreal who is travelling in the next 48 hours is getting their passport. Applicants are being triaged in line. Senior management is on the ground to help manage the situation, and although the volume of applications has skyrocketed, this situation is unacceptable.

Agriculture and Agri-FoodOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Bloc

Yves Perron Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Minister of Finance once again made an announcement about inflation without giving one cent to our farmers.

She has been warned for months that agriculture is at risk. Inflation strikes farmers three times, not just once. The price of fuel, fertilizer and animal feed has skyrocketed and added $1.5 billion to their costs.

If Ottawa does nothing, producers could go bankrupt and the price of food will continue to rise. Farmers submitted specific requests to the minister. When will she finally support them?

Agriculture and Agri-FoodOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Compton—Stanstead Québec

Liberal

Marie-Claude Bibeau LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Mr. Speaker, once again, I agree with my colleague that our farmers work extremely hard and that, just like society as a whole, they are faced with very high prices right now for food, inputs and energy.

That is why we are helping them in different ways. Last year, the Department of Agriculture had its largest budget ever, with $4 billion for the agricultural sector.

I assure my colleague that we are working on different options to see how we can provide our farmers with more assistance.

PassportsOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Conservative

Mike Lake Conservative Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB

Mr. Speaker, the utter chaos experienced by Canadians simply trying to obtain a passport from their own government is a crisis solely of the Prime Minister's making. A summer that should have provided much-needed relief after two years of significant stress has instead turned into an endless nightmare of dangerous passport office all-nighters and infuriatingly long hold times, often ending in abruptly dropped calls. A year ago, as this fully predictable situation was brewing, the Prime Minister called a completely unnecessary election.

Will he now admit that he was wrong to put his political interests ahead of the Canadians he was elected to serve?

PassportsOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Burlington Ontario

Liberal

Karina Gould LiberalMinister of Families

Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned several times in the House, we are experiencing an unprecedented volume in terms of passport applications. We have, in fact, been planning for this surge and that is why 600 employees were hired since January. Another 600 are in the process of being hired. We are rearranging and reallocating resources within Service Canada and also within other government departments. We understand the situation. We understand the frustration of Canadians, and we will continue to do everything that we can to support Canadians in getting their passports in a timely fashion.

PassportsOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Conservative

Chris Warkentin Conservative Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB

Mr. Speaker, Sally still has not received her new passport that she applied for in March. She needs it next week. The government says that she can now travel five hours to the nearest passport office to get an emergency passport printed. It told her to line up at 4 a.m., but will not guarantee that she will get served that day. It has also said that she must not arrive at the passport office sooner than 48 hours before her flight time in order to qualify for the said emergency printing.

Why does Liberal incompetence mean that Sally is forced to drive five hours one way to stand in line all night with no guarantee that she will have her passport by the time her flight leaves?

PassportsOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Burlington Ontario

Liberal

Karina Gould LiberalMinister of Families

Mr. Speaker, we are currently triaging people in line because of the unprecedented volume to ensure that people do not miss their flights. We have ensured that, when people get to the passport office, they are receiving their passports. The member opposite can certainly work with my office to support that constituent. I have been pleased to work with many members opposite to support their constituents and make sure that they can get their passports on time. We will continue to support them and Canadians as we go through this surge in volume to support Canadians with their passports.

PassportsOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Conservative

Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC

Mr. Speaker, the passport crisis is quite simply shocking and unacceptable.

Mario Dumont, the well-known TVA host, said that the government is treating Canadians like cattle. Let us think about that. People are exasperated and desperate, but the minister says that everything is fine and has been repeating the same platitudes from day one. She needs to get every employee back in person, and open passport offices evenings and weekends, not just by appointment.

When is the minister going to fix the problem?

PassportsOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Burlington Ontario

Liberal

Karina Gould LiberalMinister of Families

Mr. Speaker, I understand Canadians' frustration. We are doing our best to fix this situation.

I have to correct my hon. colleague. All the employees who work on passports at Service Canada are in the office, and have been for months. When he talks about public servants working from home, they are working. They are the same public servants who got the Canada recovery benefit out to Canadians. In all, nine million Canadians received benefits thanks to the hard-working employees of Service Canada.

PassportsOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Conservative

Dean Allison Conservative Niagara West, ON

Mr. Speaker, wherever we look these days, we see the NDP-Liberal government in chaos. If it is not chaos at our airports, it is chaos at our passport offices. Every week, dozens of constituents call my office looking for help. People have been waiting since January, with little to no response. People are lining up overnight just to get to the office. Some are even being turned away and asked to come back another day after waiting for hours.

What other G7 countries have their citizens sleeping on the ground overnight in order to receive basic government services?

PassportsOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Burlington Ontario

Liberal

Karina Gould LiberalMinister of Families

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague points out, this is not a situation unique to Canada. In fact, people in the United States, the U.K., France, Australia and Sweden are waiting for 10, 11 and up to 27 weeks. This is precisely something that is happening right around the world. It does not make it acceptable here, and that is exactly why we are throwing everything we have to fix this situation and to ensure that we can do this better, but almost all of our peer countries are going through the exact same thing.

TaxationOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

NDP

Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC

Mr. Speaker, KPMG literally counselled the wealthiest Canadians to use offshore tax havens. It told Canadians to put their money and their assets into the Isle of Man tax-free haven and that it would help them recover them, tax-free. It sounds pretty shady to me. It also sounded shady to the CRA, so it launched a criminal investigation, which found that there was no wrongdoing, which clearly means that we need to change the laws.

When will the government finally change the laws to make sure that the wealthiest Canadians are not able to use offshore tax havens and avoid paying their fair share and actually contributing fairly like the rest of Canadians do?

TaxationOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Gaspésie—Les-Îles-de-la-Madeleine Québec

Liberal

Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue

Mr. Speaker, I just love my colleague's enthusiasm for tackling tax evasion.

They Canada Revenue Agency is fighting tax evasion in Canada and abroad. We have a solid network of tax agreements. Our investments are bearing fruit. It is getting harder and harder to hide money abroad.

I have a simple message for everyone considering tax evasion: The CRA will find them no matter where they are.

TaxationOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

NDP

Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC

Mr. Speaker, KPMG did in fact counsel the wealthiest Canadians to use tax loopholes. That is unacceptable.

The government has the power to repeal the laws that allow this.

Will the government at long last amend the legislation to make the ultrarich pay their fair share like everyone else?

TaxationOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Gaspésie—Les-Îles-de-la-Madeleine Québec

Liberal

Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue

Mr. Speaker, I want my colleague to know that the CRA is independent. I do not intervene in investigations, nor do I conduct them.

Ongoing work to address tax evasion is a priority for our government. That is why we invested over $2 billion. We will keep working to tackle both tax evasion and tax avoidance.

National DefenceOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Liberal

Brendan Hanley Liberal Yukon, YT

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of National Defence announced our government's plan to modernize our continental defences, including replacing the North Warning System. Through this plan, our government will invest in state-of-the-art capabilities so that we can modernize and enhance our ability to defend Canadians against new and emerging threats. This modernization will benefit all Canadians and all North Americans.

Can the minister please outline the importance of moving forward with these investments, as well as the importance of doing so in partnership with northern and indigenous communities when investing in the defence of the north?

National DefenceOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Oakville Ontario

Liberal

Anita Anand LiberalMinister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, yesterday our government announced the largest investment in continental defence and NORAD in four decades. As part of that, we will ensure that we partner with indigenous communities in multiple areas, including in the area of infrastructure. We need to make sure they are together with us in terms of the investments we will make to keep Canadians safe and to ensure that our Canadian Armed Forces have the resources and supplies they need. The safety and security of Canadians is our top priority.

EthicsOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

Stephen Ellis Conservative Cumberland—Colchester, NS

Mr. Speaker, the government continues to interfere with democratic process. There was the SNC-Lavalin scandal, and now we see, based on the Mass Casualty Commission, that the then public safety minister and the Prime Minister put pressure on Commissioner Lucki.

Why did the Prime Minister and the public safety minister use the death of Canadians to advance their political agenda?

EthicsOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Eglinton—Lawrence Ontario

Liberal

Marco Mendicino LiberalMinister of Public Safety

Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, I want to express on behalf of the government and, I hope, all members of this chamber, our sympathies and our condolences to the families of the victims. I had the—

EthicsOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

EthicsOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

I am just going to make a comment. It is shameful that I cannot hear what is being said, so I just want to remind everyone to keep their voices down so we can hear the answer.

From the top, minister.