FINA Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Finance |
HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 |
Comité permanent des finances |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
Review of the Canada Revenue Agency's Founding Legislation
(Ottawa, 13 December 2006) - Today, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance released a report entitled Parliamentary Review of the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency Act: A Value Proposition or a Failed Experiment? The report is the result of hearings held in May 2005 as well as in June and December 2006 in fulfillment of the Parliamentary review requirement contained in the Act.
“The Committee was very pleased to undertake this statutory review of the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency Act,” said Mr. Brian Pallister, M.P., Chair of the Committee. “I know I speak on behalf of Committee members when I say that these types of reviews are important. It is not enough for us to legislate: we must review the legislation after a period of time in order to ensure that it is having the intended effect.”
Mr. Pallister continued: “We were very pleased to see that certain aspects of the unique agency model established with the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, the predecessor to the Canada Revenue Agency, are working very well. The Committee was able to conclude that the Agency’s mandate and governance structure are still valid, and that financial accountabilities are robust. We identified three areas where – going forward – we believe the Agency should focus its efforts and resources: human resource management, tax compliance and the integrity of the tax base, and service to Canadians. Overall, we agreed that the Canada Revenue Agency is a value proposition that has some serious work to do in a limited number of areas.”
“We are always interested in the Canada Revenue Agency’s operations, and the Committee will continue to meet with the Agency and the Minister of National Revenue during the annual appropriations process and at other times as required,” concluded Mr. Pallister.
The Committee’s work was undertaken pursuant to section 89 of the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency Act which requires that, five years after the coming into force of that section, a Parliamentary committee or committees undertake a review of the legislation and report to Parliament.
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