David Anderson

[Social Programs, October 28th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for drawing attention to this very important question which deals with the allocation of scarce government resources.

I should point out that wealthy people currently receiving these benefits are doing so entirely legally. It is exactly that reason why the minister responsible for human resources has tabled the social security review for members to examine. It is exactly for that reason we are embarking upon a debate on these measures that we have inherited from the previous government.

I trust that other members of the House will also take part in this and make sure they follow the lead of the hon. member for Brant. I would add how important it is also to recognize that we should reject these constant demands from the opposition not to touch the tax system. If we accepted its demands we would be unable to make these changes which will free up scarce resources for people who need them most.

I would suggest that both with respect to the debate on social security and in the preparatory discussions for the budget we take full part in making sure the system is improved so scarce money goes where it should go.

[Gun Control, October 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the review the member requests is already under way. It is well known that myself, the Solicitor General and the Minister of Justice are attempting to do whatever the government can to produce changes to our existing system so that we can decrease the number of smuggled weapons.

I would remind the hon. member of a fact of which he appears unaware. We have 130 million border crossings annually between the U.S. and Canadian border. The United States is a country which has very widespread ownership of handguns in particular, but also other weapons. It is extremely difficult to interdict the weapons coming across under normal circumstances. We have to have a concerted program involving the American authorities, ourselves and many government agencies to reduce the number of weapons.

We certainly wish to do everything we can to reduce the number of smuggled weapons coming into Canada.

[Gun Control, October 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member may have forgotten that on February 8 the government launched a quite dramatic 25 per cent increase in surveillance at the border. This was in relation to cigarettes and alcohol, but concerned as well smuggled weapons.

We have expanded quite dramatically this year the resources going into the protection at the border posts from these various items which we are attempting to pick up.

[Old Age Security Act, October 20th, 1994]

moved that Bill C-54, an act to amend the Old Age Security Act, the Canada Pension Plan, the Children's Special Allowances Act and the Unemployment Insurance Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

[Immigration, October 4th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the premise of the hon. member's question is that Canada has too many immigrants. We could equally take his question as being that the Minister of National Revenue has too few inspectors and auditors.

We carry out as best as we can efforts to make sure that all Canadians, regardless of where they come from, obey the law with respect to paying their taxes. It is vital to do this to make sure that people generally throughout Canada recognize that it is a fair system and that there are not free loaders getting away with taking services and not paying their share. We do this regardless of whether people happen to be immigrants, recent immigrants, or whether they happen to be Canadians of longstanding.

[Immigration, October 4th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, we certainly do not attempt to target any particular group, be they from any particular part of the world or living in any part of Vancouver.

I would suggest to the hon. member that we are, as he knows from press reports, continuing to follow up any leads or information we may have of any individual, whether from that particular group or any other to make sure they pay their fair share of taxes.

I have made it perfectly clear in the House on many occasions that we intend to make sure that taxes are paid and we have a level playing field in Canada.

With respect to the question of people who live in Canada and work overseas, I believe a provincial court judge in Vancouver on Monday of this week gave a decision which found a person guilty and I believe charged him some $140,000 in fines and evasion of taxes.

[Collection Of Unpaid Taxes, September 21st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I mentioned that within three weeks of becoming minister we launched a major campaign against the underground economy and against those who are not paying their fair share.

I pointed out that this was an important initiative of the government. The member seems to have overlooked the fact that revenues are up dramatically for this period over last year and that a considerable part of this, approximately $700 million, is due to improved efficiency of collection. He has overlooked the fact that we are doing much better.

He has also overlooked the fact that the Auditor General in this article to which I referred earlier said the following:

The Auditor was very pleased by the decision of the federal Revenue minister to intensify measures to collect amounts owed to the Treasury.

Had the hon. member bothered to read the story and the speech of the Auditor General, he would have noticed that the Auditor General is congratulating us for the actions we are taking.

[Collection Of Unpaid Taxes, September 21st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I read the account by Norman Delisle in this morning's La Presse of the speech by the Auditor General, and I must say I was very encouraged and pleased by what I read. He has identified the close to doubling of the taxes owed during the last five years of the Tory administration of which my hon. friend has made mention.

He has made it perfectly clear that this is indeed an area which the Government of Canada must pursue vigorously to make sure that all Canadians pay their fair share of taxes and that the business community is faced with a level playing field so it does not have to compete for contracts against those who do not pay their share. It is clear that he has identified a problem which we have recognized.

I remind the hon. member that within three weeks of becoming minister I announced a major campaign in consultation with my friend the hon. Minister of Finance to make sure that we would be able to address these very problems that the Auditor General mentioned in Quebec City yesterday.

[National Revenue, September 20th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I understand the member's frustration in this regard because in fact the public information return filed by registered charities is available to the public in accordance with section 149.1(5) of the Income Tax Act. However we cannot divulge information on non-profit organizations in accordance with the confidentiality provisions contained in subsection 241(1) of the Income Tax Act.

One of the reasons for the differences between them is that they cannot issue tax receipts. They do not have to register provincially or federally to maintain their status. They have no requirement to disburse a certain percentage of their income.

I will take the hon. member's question as a representation that the law could in fact be changed.

[Department Of External Affairs Act, September 19th, 1994]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-47, an act to amend the Department of External Affairs Act and to make related amendments to other Acts.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)