Robert Carrier

[Securities, May 14th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec's finance minister condemns the Conservatives' disinformation about the costs of the current regulatory system. Many analyses show that the costs of raising capital in Canada are comparable to those in the United States. And that is not including the job losses in Quebec and the $300 million the federal government is investing to duplicate a system that works well.

When will this government admit that there is only one reason for its commission: to strip Quebec of its financial autonomy for Toronto's benefit?

[Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2010, May 13th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, very quickly, with respect to the agreements already covered by Bill S-3, they are tax treaties that have already been negotiated and Parliament does not have the authority to amend the bill or even to split it. I believe we must accept it as is or reject it.

[Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2010, May 13th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I would once again like to thank my colleague. He always asks good questions. By carefully examining the issue, we can improve our understanding of the bill being studied.

It seems obvious to me that this bill amounts to de facto recognition of that country. Therefore, we do not have a choice. Colombia, which is one of the three countries in question, is part of the agreement and could benefit from clarification in terms of revenues.

However, this will not prevent us from strongly criticizing the lack of respect for human rights that prevails in Colombia. It is exactly for that reason that there were many discussions during examination of the bill on free trade with that country. We would like to impose stricter rules on that country in order to ensure greater respect for human rights.

[Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2010, May 13th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for that vast question, which encompasses the responsibilities of all humanity.

In terms of globalization, we could all aim for a healthy balance for all peoples. But the bill that is before us addresses only a small part of the overall problem.

We have to think about the end result of the bill, because taxation in the three countries in question is lower than in Canada. In fact, Bill C-9, which I see as related, allows companies registered in foreign countries to pay tax only in the country where they are registered. That is why I talked earlier about Canada's potential loss of revenue, which needs to be assessed.

If we look at the end result of this bill, I think we will see that these countries may ultimately achieve a net gain. Because taxation is lower there, many companies registered there will benefit in terms of their domestic revenue.

These countries will have to manage this revenue well if they really want to improve their people's welfare.

[Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2010, May 13th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. NDP colleague for his question. Clearly Colombia is a country that poses a problem. In fact, we firmly oppose the free trade bill that was introduced in the House. The bill we are currently debating has to do with tax arrangements, which have a less significant social impact on the countries in question.

The purpose of the bill is to avoid double taxation, which is commendable. However, the potential loss of government revenues must be confirmed. Bill S-3 merely aims to correct tax revenues, which is why we agree with it in principle, since it will clarify the corporate tax situation.

[Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2010, May 13th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise here today to speak to Bill S-3, which passed third reading in the other place on May 4, 2010.

The Bloc Québécois supports the bill because we believe that it is important to implement the tax conventions negotiated with Colombia, Greece and Turkey. The goal of these conventions is to avoid double taxation and promote the exchange of information.

Any time economic relations are established with another country, the individuals or businesses in question likely enjoy revenues in both countries. Accordingly, tax conventions are crucial in order to ensure the exchange of information so as to avoid double taxation.

Nevertheless, the Bloc Québécois does have some serious reservations about the bill that must examined in committee once it passes second reading.

First of all, we do not know how it will affect public finances. We heard a little bit about this earlier in other speeches, because Bill S-3 is 74 pages long and includes provisions that will have a direct impact on government revenues. The terms and conditions need to be thoroughly examined for a final assessment of this bill.

This type of review becomes even more necessary when the government is opening loopholes in the Income Tax Act to allow corporations that are not registered in Canada to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. Just look at Bill C-9 currently under review in committee. I will come back to that later on in my presentation.

The government must make a real commitment to fight tax evasion. The Conservative government, which waited until 2009 before signing its first agreement on information sharing, is showing blatant unwillingness to do anything about tax havens.

Signing bilateral agreements on information sharing is just the first step in fighting tax evasion since businesses have an incentive to declare their income: to avoid being taxed twice.

The government can do a number of things to truly fight tax evasion and simply sharing information is not enough. It has to stop concluding tax treaties with tax havens. It has to submit every international treaty it negotiates to the House of Commons and allow the representatives of the people to have their say.

In order to respect jurisdictions, it has to consult the provinces and Quebec before negotiating a treaty that affects their jurisdictions. I will come back to that later.

Earlier I spoke about the impact on the government's finances. Bill S-3 falls into line with the Conservative government's moves to cut corporate taxes. What impact will it have on the government's finances?

What impact will limiting the rate of income tax withheld at source have on the government's finances in the case of dividends from affiliates and the cases involving other dividends, interest and royalties?

This type of review becomes even more necessary when we consider that Bill C-9 to implement certain provisions of the budget confirms the Conservative government's desire to protect rich taxpayers at all costs, and among them we find the banks and big corporations.

With regard to tax loopholes, the government is talking out of both sides of its mouth. On one side, it says that it wants to go after tax havens and, on the other side, it is opening loopholes in the Income Tax Act to allow corporations that are not registered in Canada to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

I would like to shed some light on the budget implementation measures in Bill C-9. This bill changes the definition of “taxable Canadian property” to exclude shares from certain private companies. This will have a number of implications.

Non-residents—which can include companies that are owned by Canadians but were incorporated abroad—that sell shares of Canadian companies are currently exempt from paying taxes under the Canadian Income Tax Act, without having to apply the tax relief measures provided for in the different tax conventions Canada has signed.

I want to put this into context. Before, when a non-resident sold a Canadian company in part or in full, Canadian tax authorities required the purchaser to hold back 10% to 25% of the total amount of the transaction, while they did their usual checks of the conventions between Canada and the country of the non-resident. Once these checks were complete, if there was a convention in force, the non-resident would pay taxes in their own country and would avoid double taxation.

With Bill C-9, the government will stop enforcing this holdback, whether or not there is a convention with the country in question. For example, a company in the Bahamas, which does not have a tax convention with Canada, could sell shares of a Canadian company without paying taxes in Canada. A number of these companies are owned by Canadians, who would therefore avoid paying taxes.

Furthermore, the non-resident is no longer required to wait for authorization from the tax authorities when selling a Canadian investment, pursuant to clause 116, and is therefore no longer required to produce a Canadian income tax return.

The government is opening the door wide to foreign investors, and this includes the technology sector. Companies registered in countries where the tax rate is low or non-existent will be able to purchase and resell Canadian companies and pay little or no taxes.

Regarding tax havens, the Bloc Québécois urges the government to stop talking and start acting, instead of proposing pseudo-solutions made up of empty words. The Bloc Québécois has been proposing concrete solutions since 2005 to do away with access to tax havens like Barbados and to eliminate the double deduction of interest.

Why would a company not pay taxes on profits brought back to Canada after having declared them in a tax haven like Barbados, for example? This type of special treatment does not have a place in our society. Companies, like citizens, must pay their share of the tax burden. That is why we must prevent companies from using tax havens by abolishing the section in the Income Tax Act that makes this possible.

In order to truly fight tax evasion, the government could take action on a number of fronts. It must stop signing tax treaties with tax havens.

On four occasions the Bloc Québécois has introduced a treaty bill to modernize the entire process for concluding international treaties. Our treaty bill was designed to build transparency and democracy into the process of negotiating and concluding international treaties.

Moreover, the bill required that the federal government respect the provinces' jurisdictions, including Quebec's. The bill provided for five important changes: all treaties were to be put before the House of Commons, the House was to approve important treaties, a parliamentary committee was to consult civil society before Parliament voted on important treaties, treaties were to be published in the Canada Gazette and on the Department of Foreign Affairs website and the government was to consult with the provinces before negotiating a treaty in an area of provincial jurisdiction.

The treaty bill came to a vote only once, on September 28, 2005. I would like to point out that all the federalist parties in the House voted against it.

The clause on consulting Quebec and the provinces was nothing revolutionary. When the federal government, in an international forum, discusses a treaty that would impact the provinces, it consults the provinces beforehand.

The Bloc Québécois will still support the bill despite our reservations. As for respecting the Quebec nation, which was recognized here in the House, the Conservative government has yet to deliver the goods.

[Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2010, May 13th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague from Hochelaga on his speech. He managed to make this normally dry subject interesting. Thanks to his extensive experience in economics, he was able to broaden the point of view we might have regarding such a bill.

He mentioned that this bill originated in the Senate. One senator said that the purpose of the bill was to lower taxes, not only for individual Canadians, but also for businesses. The bill's aim is rather clear.

This tax conventions bill relates to three countries whose economies are weaker and taxation lower than Canada's. Accordingly, this will have an impact on government revenues, as the member for Hochelaga mentioned. Regarding these three countries, I wonder if the member could elaborate on the economic losses that this bill could cause.

[Étienne Cousineau, May 11th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, Étienne Cousineau, a young sopranist from my riding, earned top honours at his first participation at the international operetta and musical theatre contest, which is organized each year by the City of Marseille. Fifty participants from a large number of countries took part in that contest, including three Quebeckers.

Étienne is also actively involved in a number of Laval organizations, including Les Pieds légers, the Maison de ballet-théâtre Reflet, the Théâtre d'art lyrique de Laval, the Opéra bouffe du Québec and Fantasia. He also created his own theatre company, the Productions Belle Lurette, of which he is the musical director, director and choreographer.

Étienne Cousineau definitely deserves our admiration, and my Bloc Québécois colleagues are joining me in congratulating him.

[Criminal Code, May 6th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague from Elmwood—Transcona for his excellent summary of the current situation and the conditions under which a judge can impose a conditional sentence.

I will only mention three of the conditions: the person who has been convicted of an offence cannot be subject to a minimum sentence; the judge must find that the offence merits a jail term of less than two years; and the judge must be convinced that serving the sentence in the community would not pose a threat to public safety. The member presented these facts, and I would like to thank him for that because it gives us a clear idea of the current situation.

I would like to ask him the following question. How transparent does he think the government really is when it calls the bill the Ending House Arrest for Property and Other Serious Crimes by Serious and Violent Offenders Act? That is the alternative title the government has given this bill. What does the member think about a government that misleads people in this way?

[Equalization, April 19th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Beauce claims that Quebeckers are a bunch of spoiled children who are never satisfied and always ask for more. He also said they have built a system of economic dependence that has become more and more elaborate.

This is a clear demonstration of misunderstanding and contempt. Despite being shackled by Canada's chains, Quebec has successfully developed an economic and social model all its own, and with only half of the resources it should have available.

As a token Quebecker in Ottawa, the hon. member must realize that, if not for the fiscal imbalance, which the federal government like to maintain, there would be no economic dependence.

It is precisely this dependence—which the member for Beauce alluded to—that the Bloc Québécois wants to correct, not only through its bill to eliminate the so-called federal spending power, but ultimately by achieving Quebec's independence. That is the only way Quebec can achieve its social and economic goals.