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
March 6th, 2013House debate
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
March 4th, 2013House debate
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
February 26th, 2013House debate
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
February 26th, 2013House debate
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
February 14th, 2013House debate
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
February 13th, 2013House debate
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
February 13th, 2013House debate
The Senate Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister once promised, “I will not name appointed people to the Senate”. The Prime Minister has now broken that promise 58 times, and the Conservatives defend their negligence of their duties with make-believe ads on the NDP. As a new member, I find this a
February 11th, 2013House debate
Business of Supply Mr. Speaker, Canadians must stand up and be counted on this. Canadians stood up when there was a desire for an Access to Information Act. A Conservative member, Mr. Ged Baldwin, devoted his career to achieving that goal. An Information Commissioner was appointed and Canadians hav
February 7th, 2013House debate
Business of Supply Mr. Speaker, I think there were two points that were made. If I understood the question, the first was about moving away from the independence of Parliament and somehow giving the opposition the opportunity to influence that officer. With respect, that betrays a misunderstanding
February 7th, 2013House debate
Business of Supply Mr. Speaker, I accept in principle that there is a progression exactly as has occurred, as I pointed out, with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. She was initially housed within an agency of the government. This is a similar situation vis-à-vis the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
February 7th, 2013House debate
Business of Supply Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Beauport—Limoilou. I am honoured to speak today on this important motion by my colleague, the member for Parkdale—High Park, our opposition finance critic. This motion calls on the government to do two distinct things:
February 7th, 2013House debate
Canada Revenue Agency Mr. Speaker, yesterday the NDP successfully pushed the finance committee to study tax havens. The U.K., the U.S. and Australia all have published official estimates of how much these tax havens are costing them, but the Conservatives' position is to cover their eyes and pretend i
February 6th, 2013House debate
Canada Revenue Agency Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are quick to brag about money they have recovered, but they do not know how much money has gone missing. It is entirely possible to calculate how much revenue the government is losing as a result of tax havens. Other countries have done it. So why
February 6th, 2013House debate
Disability Tax Credit Promoters Restrictions Act Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-462, and I acknowledge that the bill was sponsored by the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke. I thank her for her work on this important issue. I will be supporting the bill because, like the member, I believe it is necessary to es
February 5th, 2013House debate