Martin Cauchon

[Employment Insurance, June 8th, 2001]

Second, on this side of the House, we believe in a balanced approach.

[Employment Insurance, June 8th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, what the Bloc does not understand is that it is not the fault of the members on this side of the House if the bill that helps all workers was delayed. The decision was purely political.

[Tax Administrations, June 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her excellent question.

I am proud to report to the House that Canada has shown leadership in this area. It is now hosting the first conference of tax administrations from 103 countries, a conference which will deal with the impact of the electronic world on the tax sector.

Over 250 delegates have gathered in Montreal. The goal is to improve co-operation, to ensure protection of the tax base, and to better serve all taxpayers.

[Questions On The Order Paper, May 30th, 2001]

The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, formerly the Department of National Revenue, does not record the income tax data related to the Canada child tax benefits in ways that would provide the information requested. Presently, the agency does not have an automated system or mechanism that will track the number of changes made or their dollar value for specific adjustments such as the recognition of spousal income. This is only one of several reasons for an adjustment. Other reasons include the addition of a newborn child or custody change and advice that a child has left home. In order to identify the implications of any specific reason for change, it would be necessary to manually review the details for any change in the three million monthly payments to families.

Question No. 38—

[Shipbuilding, May 30th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member is trying to run down a very serious job done by the people from the industry.

These people tabled a report with recommendations. My colleague is currently studying it. I simply want to say that the government is already putting incentives in place for shipbuilding. We will make our position on the report known very soon.

[Shipbuilding, May 30th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, throughout the Quebec City area, the Economic Development Agency of Canada has intervened with a vast economic development program to help it develop technologically.

On the issue of shipyards, one of the first acts of the Minister of Industry was to appoint a committee of experts in the field so certain recommendations could be formulated.

The recommendations have been tabled, and my colleague in industry will act on them in the best economic interests of not only the Quebec area, but of Canada as a whole.

[Missing Children, May 28th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

As we know, Canada customs fulfills an important mandate. Customs officers take part in a variety of programs, including the International Project Return. Three thousand five hundred customs officials take part in this program annually. There are partners as well.

I would like to explain to the House that, over the past ten years, 982 children were found through this program, which is now a symbol of excellence. I thank all customs officers and all of the partners.

[Summit Of The Americas, May 3rd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, first off, allow me to thank my colleague for her excellent question.

I would also point out to this House that the summit of the Americas was, for all of Canada, a real success. Of course, during the summit, people and businesses experienced some difficulties.

We know that some claims have been submitted to the City of Quebec. A meeting has already been held with representatives of the city.

We are announcing today that the government is setting up a task force to analyze the situation, consult and see what should be done by the government to help the public.

[Employment Insurance, May 1st, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, as hon. members are aware, certain measures are before the House at this time, ones that will be of great assistance to all seasonal workers in Quebec and in all of Canada.

I find what the hon. member has just said deplorable. To say that our actions to help diversify the economy, to extend the tourist season so that there will be a decent economy, are unrealistic is irresponsible. This government is going to work to help the people in the regions.

[Charities Registration (Security Information) Act, April 30th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to address Bill C-16, which I am introducing jointly with my colleague the solicitor general.

Charities play a critical role in the achievement of goals, both here and abroad, that Canadians deem important. Charities provide humanitarian assistance in times of crisis. They promote the building of civil society in developing countries. They provide help to the needy and they work to respond to social concerns and problems.

To recognize this and to encourage Canadians to support charitable activities, the Income Tax Act grants significant tax privileges to charities. Charities are accountable for how they use donations. They hold the public trust and they depend on public confidence.

The bill provides the legal means to deal with any suspected abuse of charitable status by terrorist supporters who try to use charities to disguise their activities.

This bill will also guarantee that tax privileges granted to registered charities are provided only to organizations that engage in charitable activities under the Income Tax Act. Above all, it will guarantee to Canadians that their donations to registered charities in Canada will be used for legitimate purposes.

As members know, the tax incentive related to gifts to charities is administered under the charities registration process. These legislative provisions and the registration process administered by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency are evidence of the clear intention of parliament to support, through the tax system, activities conducted for charitable purposes under Canadian legislation.

In Canada, as in other common law jurisdictions, the courts have been very clear that the pursuit of political objectives falls outside the legal bounds of charity. Any organization that operates in whole or in part to support political aims and objectives would not be eligible to receive charitable status for income tax purposes.

The use of violence or the threat of violence to achieve a political aim, regardless of the cause concerned, cannot be reconciled with the legal concept of charity. The bill before us today addresses very serious international concerns about terrorist activities.

Canada as a nation and Canadians individually do not and cannot tolerate terrorist activities. In order to maintain public trust in the treatment of charitable organizations, the government must ensure that the tax privileges available to such organizations do not benefit any organizations using violence to attain their goals.

Certain organizations which condone acts of terrorism are also involved in humanitarian assistance and community development programs. They may therefore attempt to make a distinction between that part of the organization which engages in terrorism and that part which provides humanitarian services.

This bill makes it impossible to sanitize a terrorist organization merely by keeping humanitarian activities separate from terrorist activities on the organization chart. It is naive to think that the purpose of these groups' assistance activities can be kept separate from their use of violence to attain their political goals, unless the intention is to deceive.

This bill makes it clear that Canada will not tolerate the abuse of our democratic system and institutions to promote and fund terrorism. We will not allow terrorists to obtain charity status by concealing their terrorist operations behind charitable activities.

Canada is not the only country to take steps to prevent terrorist organizations from passing themselves off as legitimate charities. In July 1996 all of the G-8 countries made a commitment “to take steps to prevent or counteract, through appropriate domestic measures, the financing of terrorists and terrorist organizations, whether such financing is direct or indirect through organizations which also have or claim to have charitable, social or cultural goals”.

The legislation is part of Canada's response to this international concern. It is not the total solution. It addresses only the issue of tax incentives that are being provided to organizations whose activities are not consistent with the concept of charity.

Such provisions do however indicate a step in the right direction. As confirmed by the report presented in 1999 by the special senate committee on security and intelligence, taxation measures applicable to charitable organizations are exposed to the possibility of abuse.

The committee pointed out that a variety of groups with terrorist affiliations are carrying out fundraising activities in Canada and that benevolent or philanthropic organizations often serve as fronts for fundraising.

The report specifically points out that such groups use the status of registered charity under the Income Tax Act to enhance their credibility. It also suggests that Canadian taxpayers may be unwittingly supporting violent political actions by these groups through donations they believed were going to provide humanitarian aid.

This is unacceptable. Canadians have every right to expect that registered charities are charitable as the term is understood by the law. We have a clear onus to ensure the integrity of the system and to take whatever steps are necessary to see that the legislative framework for the system guards against abuse.

This is what the bill does. It protects the registration of charities by providing recourse to secret information, to security information, relevant to the determination of a charity's right to receive donations providing tax relief. To this end, it in fact creates a parallel appeal process.

The automatic judicial review process will be used only when the solicitor general and the national revenue minister take steps to revoke or refuse a registration on the grounds that donations are being used to support acts of terrorism.

The proposed process will make it possible to consider all information relevant to national security in determining the status of the charity, while protecting from inappropriate disclosure delicate information on national security. The rules currently in effect requiring full public disclosure will continue to apply in all other appeals.

This bill demonstrates the government's commitment to building Canadians' trust in the voluntary sector and in the integrity of our tax administration. This is a step that should be welcomed by all concerned about our charity registration system.

To close, we cannot and will not neglect our responsibility to all Canadians to ensure tax measures relating to charitable organizations are respected and may be controlled.

This is the very foundation of public trust in tax measures applying to charities. This trust is fragile and must be protected. The bill realizes this objective.