House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 50% of the vote.
Ethics February 14th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, immediately after the Ethics Commissioner released her report, I accepted the findings of the report, took responsibility, and am following up on every single element of her advice or recommendations.
That is what Canadians expect, and that following of the Ethic Commissioner's advice and recommendations is exactly what Canadians expect of any of us.
Marijuana February 14th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, protecting the health and safety of Canadians is a top priority for our government, and that is why we are moving forward on a legalized regime for the sale of marijuana.
Under our proposed regulations, security clearances will be mandatory for individuals who occupy key positions in any organization, as well as background checks on significant investors to any marijuana company. In addition, the Minister of Finance recently reached an agreement with his provincial and territorial counterparts to ensure that we know who owns which corporations, which will help prevent Canadian or international companies from facilitating tax evasion.
Marijuana February 14th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, with regard to tax information, we are focused on transparency and increasing and expanding the sharing of information.
Canada has a vast network of treaties and a number of tools that enabled the Canada Revenue Agency to share 2.2 million pieces of information last year. Thanks to our historic investment of $1 billion to combat tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance, the CRA will be able to recover over $5 billion in federal revenues over the next six years. We will continue to work hard to combat tax evasion and tax avoidance.
Marijuana February 14th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, we are going to continue to crack down on tax evasion and tax avoidance by making investments. We invested nearly $1 billion in the Canada Revenue Agency for that very purpose. I am also pleased to repeat the announcement that was made today. Across the country, 30 CRA investigators are taking action in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto to ensure that we are continuing to crack down on tax evasion and tax avoidance.
Marijuana February 14th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, it is nice to see the NDP and Conservatives working together for once.
The Minister of Finance recently reached an agreement with his provincial and territorial counterparts to ensure that we know who owns which corporations, which will prevent Canadian or international companies from facilitating tax evasion, money laundering, and other criminal activities. There will be background checks on significant investors in any marijuana organization. That is the kind of framework that we are putting in place to protect Canadians, to reduce the profits of organized crime, and to protect our communities.
Marijuana February 14th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, again, the Conservatives are trying to divert attention from their own failure on this file. The Conservative government perpetuated a system that made it easier for young people to access marijuana in Canada than in 29 other countries in the world. Their system was a total failure. We want to better protect our young people. We want to keep profits out of the hands of organized crime. That is exactly what we are doing and they have nothing to say about it.
Marijuana February 14th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, part of our framework for the sale of marijuana and associated investments involves extensive screenings and background checks of everyone who works in the marijuana industry, including investors. Yes, we will ensure that no one involved in organized crime invests in the sale and production of marijuana.
Marijuana February 14th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, it is very simple, the current system is failing. It fails to protect our children, it fails to protect our communities, and it fails to keep organized crime from making billions of dollars per year in profits from marijuana sales. That is why we are bringing forward a system that will control and regulate the sale and production of marijuana to better protect our kids, better protect our communities, and keep billions of dollars in profits out of the hands of organized crime.
Marijuana February 14th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, one of the fundamental reasons for legalizing and controlling the sale of marijuana is to reduce the amount of profit going into the coffers of organized crime across the country. For 10 years, the Conservative government allowed to perpetuate a system of prohibition that actually created sources of funding for organized crime, street gangs, and gun runners to continue to expand their illicit activities. We are moving forward to limit the profits to organized crime through the legal framework for marijuana. That is what we are sticking with.
Marijuana February 14th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, right now the sale of marijuana across this country puts billions of dollars in the pockets of organized crime. That is a failure of the current, actual system. We know that by legalizing and controlling the sale of marijuana, not only will we reduce the profits going to organized crime, street gangs, and gun runners but we will do a better job of protecting our kids and their communities with a legalized framework.