Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2013  Mr. Speaker, the amount of money that the same organization, Canadians for Tax Fairness, has indicated every year is lost bears repeating. Its study shows it is $7.8 billion. The Tax Justice Network, of which it is a part, has done enormously good work around the globe in trying

Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2013  Mr. Speaker, I said on two occasions during my remarks that there were 90 such conventions, so I do not think I can be corrected on that matter. I also said that these types of arrangements had been around since 1920 and that the OECD, of which Canada is a proud part, had done a

Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2013  Mr. Speaker, I would agree entirely with my colleague's thoughtful intervention. It is a matter of some sadness to me that the government's rhetoric is all about going after tax evaders, all about a crisis and tax havens and so forth. The government announced a while ago that it

Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2013  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill S-17, which is a lengthy statute to deal with certain double taxation conventions between Canada and Namibia, Serbia, Poland, Hong Kong, Luxembourg and Switzerland. This is second reading debate. I want to say at the outset that the offi

Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2013  Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of being the official opposition's revenue critic and do not know of the 100 days of which my friend speaks. If he is referring to the other place, there are no representatives from the official opposition there. I understand we offered an arrange

Government Expenditures  Mr. Speaker, in the fog of the Senate scandals and the PMO secret slush fund, the Conservatives still have not answered a very simple question. Just where did that $3.1 billion go? If the money was in the public accounts and earmarked for public safety, then every penny of that m

Second World War Bravery  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the incredible bravery of a recently deceased constituent, Mrs. Nathalia Petrovna Buchan, and her husband, William Muir Buchan, who were Allied prisoners during the Second World War. I also rise to recognize and honour the extraordinary huma

Incorporation by Reference in Regulations Act  Mr. Speaker, I have one question on the substance of Bill S-12, which is a bill to amend the Statutory Instruments Act to deal with ambulatory references and the like. One of the things that has caused me concern, and I would like his comment on, is whether the term “accessible

Incorporation by Reference in Regulations Act  Mr. Speaker, in reference to my colleague and his opposition, apparently, to this bill, I would like to ask the following question. The member for Okanagan—Coquihalla and the House leader for the New Democratic Party both talked about business certainty and the importance in ou

Incorporation by Reference in Regulations Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon and likewise his colleague from Okanagan—Coquihalla for their leadership on this. I appreciate very much the presentation they have just made. In terms of business certainty, the official opposition House

Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today in support of Bill C-475, put forward by my colleague from Terrebonne—Blainville. This is an extremely important initiative for all Canadians. Frankly, the question that arises is: Whatever happened to Bill C-12? This was to be the go

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, a party that ran on accountability cannot account for $3.1 billion. Wow. As well, a party that denounced an iPod tax has now introduced its own through the back door. In a bizarre twist, we learned just today that the Conservatives have long planned on making this

Canada Revenue Agency  Mr. Speaker, today's last minute announcement does not change the fact that they cut $250 million from the CRA's budget and are getting rid of over 2,500 talented tax professionals. The government wrote off $2.8 billion in tax debt last year alone. That is over $13 billion that

Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I want to start by saying that I agree with a central point that my hon. friend made, which is that Canadians believe the economy and economic growth is the number one priority. However, where I disagree with her is that somehow the government is a “wise steward of t

Government Spending  Mr. Speaker, that was a very selective quote indeed. What the Auditor General actually said was: It's important...for people to understand how this money was spent and that summary reporting was not done. The Auditor General looked thoroughly for the money. He said that full