Taxation  Mr. Speaker, yesterday the OECD revealed that many multinationals were using dubious strategies to pay less than 5% in tax. Small businesses, on the other hand, have to pay tax of up to 30%. Several OECD countries are taking this situation seriously and have conducted studies t

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, Conservatives are quick to brag, but they are letting billions more go uncollected while they stand and congratulate themselves. As yesterday's report by the OECD makes clear, unethical tax avoidance by multinational businesses is a serious problem and it is getting

Shark Finning  Mr. Speaker, an estimated 73 million sharks are killed each year for their fins, often by a brutal practice called shark finning. Fins are removed and the bodies dumped into the ocean, causing a rapid decline in shark populations and serious impacts on our marine ecosystems. My

Government Accountability  Mr. Speaker, the problem is not just about the personal information of Canadians. It is a much larger and more chronic problem that the Conservatives are unable to fix. Last October, a computer and USB key were stolen from a car. They contained information about more than 700 pe

Government Accountability  Mr. Speaker, protecting the private information of Canadians should be a priority, but the Conservatives have repeatedly bungled these breaches. They have lost hard drives, lost USB keys and exposed the private information of thousands of people. Now the federal agency charged w

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, across Canada, employment insurance recipients are wondering when they will get the next knock on their door from a Service Canada investigator. Last week, leaked documents revealed that EI investigators can go so far as to ask mothers on maternity leave for proof of

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, the first step to addressing tax evasion is to figure out just how much money we are losing, which is likely millions of dollars. That is what governments that are serious about tax evasion have already done—the United States, the U.K., Australia. But the Conservativ

Canada Revenue Agency  Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives do not seem to understand that part of the job of government is to actually serve Canadians. Tax time is just around the corner. So far, the Conservatives have already stopped letting Canadians file by phone, and with very little warning, they have

Technical Tax Amendments Act, 2012  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise and speak to Bill C-48 as well. Before doing so, I would like to acknowledge that I am speaking today on International Women's Day. I would like particularly to salute the contributions of the remarkable women in my community of Victoria. The of

National Charities Week Act  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to rise on this important debate. I want to say in advance that the official opposition will be in support of the bill. However, it would take it to committee where we think it must be examined before we can sign on entirely to what would

Minister of Finance  Mr. Speaker, since 2006, the Minister of Finance has made a career out of increasing Canadian and household debt. In the last five years, he has increased the federal debt by $125 billion, leaving the largest deficit in Canadian history, but it gets worse. Yesterday we learned th

Financial Institutions  Mr. Speaker, when the Quebec government changed its tax arrangements with credit unions, it talked to them first. The Conservative change came out of nowhere. Millions of Canadians are members of credit unions. By increasing the tax on the profits of credit unions, the Conservati

Health  Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' attack on credit unions will take $205 million out of the pockets of Canadians over the next five years. The Conservatives are also adding GST to hospital parking in the budget. The Canadian Medical Association Journal noted in 2011 that high fees

Canada Revenue Agency  Mr. Speaker, the minister seems a bit angry and frustrated, much like one of his party's backbenchers. While the government is increasing taxes on hospital parking, safety deposit boxes, small businesses, credit unions and groceries, it is still not imposing sanctions on people

Canada Revenue Agency  Mr. Speaker, they are making up numbers on tax cheats, making up answers about tax increases and even their own backbenchers do not trust the Prime Minister. The reality is, Conservatives are raising taxes on almost everything while cutting the people who go after tax cheats. Ho