Niki Ashton

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, May 31st, 2023]

With regard to government settlements on class action suits involving First Nations, since 2015: (a) how many have been administered or monitored (i) by private firms like Deloitte, (ii) through the federal public service; (b) how is the decision made on whether a settlement is administered by the federal public service or a private firm; (c) what is the process for an individual to file and seek resolution to a complaint that a recipient did not receive the appropriate amount from a settlement; (d) how many complaints have been made relating to a recipient of a class action lawsuit not receiving the appropriate amount, broken down by year; (e) how many of the complaints in (d) have resulted in a change in the amount the recipient received; (f) what is the total dollar amount of the changes in amounts received in (e); (g) what is the dollar amount of these settlements, broken down by year and organization responsible for administering the settlement; and (h) what is the dollar value paid to each firm in (a)(i) for the purpose of administering or monitoring each settlement?

[Questions on the Order Paper, May 31st, 2023]

With regard to the government's commitment to close the infrastructure gap on First Nations by 2030: (a) what metrics is the government using to measure the progress on meeting this commitment; (b) has the government made any assessments on whether it is on track to reach this commitment; and (c) what year does Indigenous Services Canada expect the infrastructure gap will be closed, and what is the current level of progress based on the metrics in (a)?

[Indigenous Affairs, May 31st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, there is a priest accused of, and arrested for, abuse and forcible confinement of an eight-year-old girl. More victims are coming forward. Families are in shock. A first nation is in shock.

This is not history. This is happening now in Little Grand Rapids first nation in 2023. What is the government doing to support the community? What will the government do to work with the community to support its clear calls for accountability?

[Business of Supply, May 29th, 2023]

Madam Chair, my riding, as I mentioned, has consistently had one of the highest child poverty rates in the country. Why will the government not make COVID-era benefits permanent, which would make poverty history?

[Business of Supply, May 29th, 2023]

Madam Chair, quickly speaking of what others are doing, the U.S. passed a book profit tax as part of its Inflation Reduction Act that is already generating revenue. If Canada had a 15% minimum tax on book profits in 2021, it would have generated $1.4 billion in revenue annually.

Why is the government dragging behind the U.S. and letting corporations get out of paying their fair share of taxes?

[Business of Supply, May 29th, 2023]

Madam Chair, yes, I am referring to pillar two. I am wondering how the minister could guarantee a movement in 2024 when no public agreements and timelines committed to so far have actually been met.

How is Canada going to move forward in 2024 when nothing that should have been done by now has been done?

[Business of Supply, May 29th, 2023]

Madam Chair, turning to the so-called multilateral action that the government is a fan of, the Liberal government guaranteed that the global minimum tax would come into effect by 2024, yet it has not even begun to start the process that would implement a tax on multinational profits in every country where they are made, continuing a long tradition by the Liberal Party of coddling large multinational corporations.

Can the government guarantee that there will be a minimum tax on international corporations by 2024?

[Business of Supply, May 29th, 2023]

Madam Chair, my answer to that is that it is nowhere near enough, given the accumulation of wealth we are seeing, a kind of accumulation we have not seen before in our country.

Let us turn to the climate crisis. Canadians expected leadership from the government, but they have been sorely disappointed. The government has instead offloaded its climate transition plan onto our tax code, preferring to line the pockets of wealthy CEOs by investing $80 billion in tax credits for the ultra-wealthy.

How can the minister guarantee that the tax credits will actually go to decarbonization?

[Business of Supply, May 29th, 2023]

Madam Chair, I repeat that there was no answer to the question, but 34% of wealth created in the last 10 years went to the richest 1% of Canadians, and only 5% went to the poorest 50%.

Why are the minister and her government upholding the same plutocratic systems that her book criticizes?

[Business of Supply, May 29th, 2023]

There is a preamble that is allowed—