Niki Ashton

[Canada Revenue Agency, February 9th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, today Canadians for Tax Fairness released a report that looked at 74 Canadian companies that used the Canada emergency wage subsidy and tax avoidance schemes. When the Prime Minister said that “We are all in this together”, I did not know that we were in a billionaire tax haven.

Take Brookfield Asset Management, with a tax gap of $6.5 billion. Five of its subsidiaries received the wage subsidy despite being based in Bermuda. Enbridge and Thomson Reuters are part of a “who's who” of corporate tax avoidance.

Why do the Liberals expect Canadians to subsidize the lifestyles of the ultrawealthy?

[Taxation, February 9th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, today Canadians for Tax Fairness released a damning report on how the richest corporations in Canada used the Canada emergency wage subsidy to get richer and avoid paying taxes. The report shows most of the large Canadian corporations that took public subsidies during the pandemic used tax havens, paid out dividends to shareholders during the pandemic, increased their total dividend payout, did share buybacks and actually reduced their overall employment.

Once again, Canada's political and corporate elite are lining up at the trough to use public money for their own private gain. When it comes to tax fairness, whether Liberal or Tory, it is the same old story. They do not stand up to these corporations. They refuse to bring in a windfall tax, refuse to increase the corporate tax rate and refuse to go after their friends who use tax havens.

Canadians have had enough. Working people and people on fixed incomes are struggling, and only the NDP is calling for action. It is time to stand up to corporate Canada and take back what it owes Canadians.

[Committees of the House, February 6th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for the points he raised in the House.

As I mentioned, back home, ordinary people are having a tough time because of the cost of living and inflation. We see that taxpayers money, Quebeckers' and Canadians' money, is being used by the Liberals to help their friends, their contacts, those who have power or hidden power.

Could my colleague share his thoughts on what an injustice this scandal is to Canadians?

[Committees of the House, February 6th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a comment. We know that Canadians are really struggling right now because of inflation and the cost of living. Day after day, life is becoming increasingly difficult. Meanwhile, they are once again seeing the Liberal government lining the pockets of its friends and contacts with taxpayers' money.

What does my colleague think about this injustice when many Canadians are facing hard times?

[Taxation, January 31st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the rich are getting richer while everyone else is losing out, says a recent Oxfam report.

In Canada, the rich and powerful are making record profits while working people and people on fixed incomes fall further behind. This did not just happen. Liberals are refusing to make the rich pay their fair share. Despite Conservative rhetoric, they are keen to let the ultrarich off the hook, too. One thing is clear, whether Liberal or Tory, it is the same old story.

It is time for a windfall tax on oil and gas. It is time to increase the corporate tax. It is time to go after tax cheats in our country. It is time to step up for working people and people on fixed incomes. Will the Liberals step up?

[Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act, January 31st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House given the support that we in the NDP have given to this important legislation.

We know that work needs to be done to improve it, but it is really hard to take anybody from the Conservative Party seriously who is critical of moving forward toward universal, affordable child care. It is a party that, when it was in government, waged a war on women. It cut the status of women department, cut programming when it came to women, refused to implement an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women, and did nothing to advance the desperate need for child care that women face in our country.

This legislation is critical to lifting Canadian women up. Despite the rhetoric from the Conservative leadership, let it be known to Canadians today that the Conservatives do not want to lift Canadian women up and ensure that there is affordable, accessible child care in our country for all of us.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, January 30th, 2023]

With regard to the Canada Revenue Agency’s investigations into overseas tax evasion and the Panama Papers, Paradise Papers and Pandora Papers, broken down by paper and fiscal year since 2015-16: (a) how many audits were initiated into Canadian companies; (b) how many of the audits in (a) are (i) currently under review, (ii) closed; (c) what was the average processing time for audits in (a); (d) what is the total cost of the audits in (a); (e) how many of the audits in (a) led to criminal investigations; and (f) what is the dollar value of sums recovered from each audit in (a)?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, January 30th, 2023]

With regard to ministerial loan guarantees used to secure loans to build, purchase or renovate on-reserve housing, broken down by fiscal year since 2015-16: (a) what is the total number and dollar value of loans requested; (b) what is the total number and dollar value of loans in (a) that have been (i) committed, (ii) disbursed; and (c) how many total borrowers in (a) defaulted on loans, and what was the total loan amount that was defaulted on?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, January 30th, 2023]

With regard to the First Nations On-Reserve Housing Program, broken down by reserve and fiscal year since 2015-16: (a) how much funding was (i) requested, (ii) delivered, through the program; and (b) what is the total number of new homes built with contributions from the program?

[Questions on the Order Paper, January 30th, 2023]

With regard to Indigenous Services Canada and programs and services offered to promote mental health and wellness in First Nations and Inuit communities, broken down by community and fiscal year since 2015-16: (a) what was the total amount of funding requested for recreational activities, programs, and activities; and (b) how much funding was delivered for the requests in (a)?