Charlie Angus

[Broadcasting Act, November 19th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, this issue is really important. Facebook has $19 billion in global revenues, and it does not pay any tax.

What concerns me, however, is that our previous heritage minister was supposed to regulate and bring taxes in, but her chief of staff was a top Google executive brought in by the Prime Minister's Office, Leslie Church. The Prime Minister's close connections to Google and Facebook raise really serious questions.

When I look at this bill, I see the fact that Facebook and Google, which have 64% of all the Internet advertising dollars in Canada, are not going to be paying any tax on that advertising, still. This is one of the biggest outstanding issues, and the government is ignoring it.

How can we have a level playing field when all advertisers, artists and cable companies pay advertising and taxes, yet under this bill Facebook and Google still will not be paying tax?

[Broadcasting Act, November 19th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to my friend's description of Corner Gas and Captain Kirk. He thinks this is going to somehow create a vision for dealing with Facebook and Google, even though we know that the government has been deeply embedded with the web giants. The Prime Minister deals with Amazon; Leslie Church, a top Google executive, became head of the department that is overseeing whether Google comes under regulations; and the Prime Minister has close involvement with Facebook.

The idea that the CRTC is going to regulate the digital platforms may be the best idea of 1994, but it certainly does not recognize the real issues we need to deal with regarding the web giants today. For example, as a simple issue, they are not paying taxes, and with the bill they would still not be paying taxes.

The idea is that the government is going to handle the web giants by giving this over to the CRTC while they have a huge advantage in not paying taxes. Cable companies have to pay taxes, newspapers have to pay taxes and artists have to pay taxes, yet Google and Facebook, which are so deeply embedded with the government, do not. It is ridiculous.

I do not know if there was an episode of Corner Gas that talked about this or—

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 18th, 2020]

With regard to federal funding in the constituency of Timmins—James Bay, between January 2019 and October 2020: (a) what applications for funding have been received, including for each the (i) name of the organization, (ii) department, (iii) program and sub-program under which they applied for funding, (iv) date of the application, (v) amount applied for, (vi) whether the funding has been approved or not, (vii) total amount of funding allocated, if the funding was approved; (b) what funds, grants, loans, and loan guarantees has the government issued through its various departments and agencies in the constituency of Timmins—James Bay that did not require a direct application from the applicant, including for each the (i) name of the organization, (ii) department, (iii) program and sub-program under which they received funding, (iv) total amount of funding allocated, if the funding was approved; and (c) what projects have been funded in the constituency of Timmins—James Bay by organizations tasked with subgranting government funds (e.g. Community Foundations of Canada), including for each the (i) name of the organization, (ii) department, (iii) program and sub-program under which they received funding, (iv) total amount of funding allocated, if the funding was approved?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 18th, 2020]

With regard to the handling of cases and claims pursuant to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement by the Department of Justice Canada, Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada: how much has been spent on settled cases, requests for direction, and other proceedings where Canada has been either the plaintiff or defendant before appellate courts (such as the Ontario Superior Court or the Supreme Court of British Columbia) related to survivors of St. Anne's Residential School between 2013 and October 1, 2020, (i) in total, (ii) broken down by year?

[Business of Supply, November 17th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I listened with great interest to my hon. colleague. One thing I have noticed that the Conservatives are not talking about is that we are engaged, worldwide, in the natural resource sector with China taking major investments and getting control of key natural resources, particularly in Africa and elsewhere.

It was under the Stephen Harper government that Prime Minister Harper approved the Chinese-state takeover of Nexen in a $15-billion deal. Then, the FIPA he signed with China gave China enormous rights to sue Canada in tribunals if we held China to any standards. These were rules that we could not get for any of our natural resources companies if they were working in China. We saw that Stephen Harper signed off on Petronas, the $6-billion purchase of Alberta Progress Energy. We had HD Mining where, under Stephen Harper, they were flying in Chinese workers and not hiring Canadians, in Canada, at Chinese-owned mines.

Now we see the Conservatives taking a strong line on China. I find it interesting that when it came to the natural resource sector, they opened the door for Chinese-state intervention time and time again.

[Business of Supply, November 17th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, certainly the Chinese government's attack on Hong Kong is very concerning. The attack on minority groups such as the Uighurs is very concerning.

In Canada, though, one of the things that concerns me is that our Parliament has not spoken up about or dealt with the proliferation of illegal fentanyl labs, which have caused such horrific death and destruction in community after community across this country.

Thanks to international pressure in May 2019, China finally made fentanyl illegal, but we know that there are hundreds of labs across the country in China. They are using the various ingredients, hiding through elaborate corporate networks and moving these products through the dark web. They are having a disastrous impact on the lives and health of Canadians.

Why is it that this Parliament has not spoken up on the crisis of the illegal Chinese fentanyl labs? Why are we not working with our allies to shut this down and stop the horrific opioid epidemic, which is causing so much heartache in our communities?

[Income Tax Act, November 6th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with great fascination to my hon. colleague's discussion. The issue before us is a very serious issue. There are small businesses across this country that have been hammered by the first wave of the pandemic, and now the second wave, with winter coming.

I feel that in the first stages, with the rent subsidy plan and the government moving fast, there was a need for urgency. We had to get stuff out the door because we knew businesses could go under, but we learned very quickly that there were problems with the program. That was the issue, and I think we were all shocked at the attitude of many landlords who would let their businesses go under, rather than respond.

When we knew there was a problem, that was when we needed to start fixing it. We have been, for a number of months, waiting and waiting, and businesses are hanging by a thread. To my hon. colleague who talked about moving too quickly, there was a need to move fast, but given the crisis of the pandemic, there is a need now to be able to fix things as we are moving so that we are not leaving businesses hanging and waiting for a good piece of legislation that might come too late for them.

[Indigenous Affairs, November 6th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the children in Neskantaga are now in their third week of a forced evacuation. Let us run through the minister's lame rolodex of excuses for not helping.

First, he said the Liberals have spent record funding on Neskantaga. Is he serious? Then he said that at least the Liberals have done more for Neskantaga than Stephen Harper. Here is the thing: Neskantaga did not have any clean water under Stephen Harper, and now they have no water under the Liberals. When the minister talks about making progress, he means the progress of going from having no water back to boiled water.

Why has the minister completely failed the people of Neskantaga and their children?

[Business of Supply, November 5th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, that was so much fun. I am going to clip that and send it home. This is the Conservative world view: A 1% tax on billionaires will create Yemen. It will create the Soviet Union. It will create breadlines. It is like the flat earth of the 20th century, the Conservative world view.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives stand up day after day demanding support for small business because they are telling us small business does not need government. Actually, they do right now. A 1% tax will give someone the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, we have a party over here that stands up and says we are not doing enough to put up government money and it is not going out fast enough. Let all the entrepreneurs get by. They will get by, but they need support right now. If a 1% tax will create socialism—

[Business of Supply, November 5th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, people have to tell the truth in the House. I am kind of glad the member is no longer chair of the ethics committee, but if she were, she would know that she is debating my NDP motion to investigate WE. Rather than committing the falsehood she is committing point after point, she should be truthful with the House. Maybe that is why she is no longer chair of the committee.