Taxation  Mr. Speaker, again today I am going to bring forward an issue that is of great concern to middle-class Canadians. The Conservatives' budget is imposing a new tax of over $300 million a year on goods ranging from scissors to wigs to coffee makers. Since the Prime Minister did not actually answer my question yesterday, I will ask the Minister of Finance.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, as a result of these new tariffs on imports, middle-class Canadians will have to pay more to buy tricycles, school supplies and children's clothing. How can the government justify this senseless new tax to the millions of Canadians who are struggling to make ends meet?

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, according to Collins English Dictionary, a tariff is “a tax levied by a government on imports”. The Prime Minister can couch this in any terms he likes, but the facts are that when middle-class Canadians go into a store to buy a tricycle, to buy school supplies, to buy a little red wagon for their kids, they will pay more because of a tax in this government's budget.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, this government lacks judgment on international trade, particularly when it comes to its new $350 million tax on the middle class. Does the government not understand that increasing the price of hundreds of basic necessities will be a huge burden for Canadians who are struggling?

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns  With regard to overseas tax evasion for the period from February 6, 2006 to September 30, 2012: (a) how many Canadians have been identified as having undeclared overseas bank accounts; (b) how many accounts have been identified; (c) how many identified Canadians have availed themselves of the Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA); (d) how many identified Canadian accounts have settled with the CRA; (e) how much money has the CRA assessed as a result of investigating these secret overseas bank accounts (i) in unpaid taxes, (ii) in interest, (iii) in fines, (iv) in penalties; (f) how much of the money in (e) has been collected; (g) how many of the cases are under appeal; (h) how many cases remain open; (i) how many more cases does the CRA anticipate will be opened; (j) how many cases have been closed (i.e. the full amount of taxes, interest, fines and penalties has been collected); (k) how much money in (j) has been collected (i) in unpaid taxes, (ii) in interest, (iii) in fines, (iv) in penalties; (l) how many account holders in the cases have made partial payment; (m) of the partial payments made, (i) what was the largest amount, (ii) what was the smallest amount, (iii) what was the average amount; (n) how much does the CRA anticipate it has yet to collect (i) in taxes, (ii) in interest, (iii) in fines, (iv) in penalties; (o) of the amounts of money contained in overseas accounts declared or discovered by CRA (i) what was the largest amount, (ii) what was the smallest amount, (iii) what was the average amount; (p) how many of the identified Canadians with overseas bank accounts (i) have had their account(s) audited, (ii) have had their account(s) reassessed, (iii) have been the subject of a compliance action; (q) how many of the identified Canadians with overseas bank accounts (i) have not had their account(s) audited, (ii) have not had their account(s) reassessed, (iii) have not been the subject of a compliance action; (r) how many tax evasion charges were laid; (s) has the government made any changes to the VDP in the past 24 months; (t) how many Canadians have been convicted of tax evasion; and (u) how many Canadians have been convicted of tax evasion related to money and other assets held overseas?

Intergovernmental Affairs  Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. Middle-class Canadians have the right to obtain the skills in demand in their local job market in order to succeed. On this side of the House, we are troubled by the news that the government is considering taking the responsibility for training programs away from the regions and communities, which know better than anyone what workers need.

Intergovernmental Affairs  Mr. Speaker, Canadians are worried about their jobs and their MPs who stay silent. It is time the members opposite learned that they were elected by Canadians to represent their views in Ottawa, not the Prime Minister's views in their communities. We know they cannot run effective training in Kamloops or Rimouski from downtown Ottawa.

Intergovernmental Affairs  Mr. Speaker, while this Prime Minister is trying to score cheap political points, Canadians are worried and he is ignoring the fact that even in his own document from this year's report on plans and priorities for HRSDC it states: Since provinces and territories are best placed to determine the mix of employment programming that is required to meet their local and regional labour market needs, Employment Benefits and Support Measures are delivered through transfer Labour Market Development Agreements between Canada and the provinces and territories.

Family Resource Centre  Mr. Speaker, Espace Famille Villeray is a non-profit organization that provides a variety of services and activities for parents-to-be and families with children between the ages of zero and five. Established in 1988 as La Jouthèque de Villeray, it is part of the community fabric of Papineau, which I am proud to represent.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, with answers like that from across the aisle, no wonder the people in Lévis do not think the government cares about them. What I have heard as I have visited the constituencies of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, Wetaskiwin, Saint Boniface and Halton is frustration. Canadians are frustrated when they compare—

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, no wonder Canadians are frustrated when they compare government pronouncements of economic strength with the pressures actually being felt by real Canadians in the middle class. They sent MPs to represent their voices in Ottawa, but they got representatives of the PMO in their communities.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have met with thousands of Canadians all across the country in—

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have met with thousands of Canadians all across the country in the past few months. I have personally had people from Lévis—Bellechasse and Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean, for example, tell me how frustrated they are when they compare the government's rhetoric on the economy with the realities facing the middle class.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns  With regard to Aboriginal affairs, what are the titles, dates, and file numbers of any reports, studies, files, or dossiers, dated between January 1, 2006, and May 31, 2011, held by any department or agency, concerning the Labrador Metis Association, Labrador Metis Nation, or NunatuKavut?

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns  With regard to access to information requests, broken down by each department or agency of government subject to the Access to Information Act: (a) what is the practice to release records in digital form pursuant to a request made under the Act and in what electronic format are such records released to a requester; (b) following an access to information request, are records released in the original format in which they were created and if another format is used, what is it; (c) if records are released in digital format, why, and if not, why not; (d) in what policy, circular, notice, memorandum, directive, or other document is the department or agency's policy concerning release or non-release of electronic records contained?