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Results: 1 - 15 of 235
View Murray Rankin Profile
NDP (BC)
View Murray Rankin Profile
2015-06-10 14:50 [p.14874]
Mr. Speaker, two new Swiss banks are now facing fines from the United States for helping wealthy clients evade taxes. Still there is no action from the Conservatives to actually charge Canadians found to be stashing millions overseas.
We are losing up to $8 billion a year to tax havens. That money could help pay for child care, health care, transit or boosting economic innovation. However, the Conservatives have totally failed to get serious on cracking down on tax havens. Why do they keep letting the wealthy and well connected avoid paying their fair share?
View Gerald Keddy Profile
CPC (NS)
Mr. Speaker, that question is absolute nonsense. Our government has always had zero tolerance for tax evasion.
Let the numbers and the record speak for themselves. From 2006 to March 31, 2014, CRA audited over 8,600 international tax cases, identified over $5.6 billion in additional taxes, taxes that are being collected.
View Pierre Dionne Labelle Profile
NDP (QC)
View Pierre Dionne Labelle Profile
2015-06-10 14:51 [p.14874]
Mr. Speaker, the United States has just imposed hefty fines on two Swiss banks that were helping American taxpayers hide more than $660 million from the taxman. Here, people in the middle class are working harder and harder to make ends meet and are paying their taxes in Canada. However, Canadian corporations have sheltered almost $200 billion in tax havens.
When will the Conservatives take action to ensure that corporations pay their fair share here?
View Gerald Keddy Profile
CPC (NS)
Mr. Speaker, CRA and our government expect all Canadians and all corporations to pay their fair share of Canadian tax.
What the hon. member is talking about is again sheer nonsense. We have more international auditors. We have a greater effort to catch tax evaders, not just individuals but companies as well, who are using offshore shelters to protect themselves from paying Canadian tax.
We expect everyone to pay their fair share of tax and we intend to ensure that happens.
View Pierre Dionne Labelle Profile
NDP (QC)
View Pierre Dionne Labelle Profile
2015-06-03 14:39 [p.14530]
Mr. Speaker, while the middle class is struggling to make ends meet, the Conservatives are allowing Canadian companies to put billions of dollars in tax havens with total impunity.
This year Canadians companies will hide $200 billion from the taxman. Of the five most popular destinations for Canadian direct investment abroad, three are tax havens. That is not right.
Instead of cutting thousands of jobs at the Canada Revenue Agency, will the Conservatives do something to combat offshore tax evasion?
View Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay Profile
CPC (BC)
Mr. Speaker, the government has zero tolerance for tax evasion. From 2006 to March 31, 2014, the CRA audited over 8,600 international tax cases, identifying over $5.6 billion in additional taxes. There has been no cut to auditors. In fact, we have increased the number of auditors at CRA.
Our unprecedented investments have provided the CRA with enhanced tools to pursue tax evaders like never before.
Additionally, our government has introduced over 85 measures to improve the integrity of the tax system. The NDP has voted against all—
View Pierre Nantel Profile
NDP (QC)
Mr. Speaker, many Longueuil residents are doing more than their share and are paying enough taxes.
As these good people receive fewer services, they see billions of tax dollars disappearing into tax havens every year, instead of being invested in our hospitals, schools and public transit.
These people are right to wonder why it is always them, honest citizens, who have to pay, in the form of taxes, fees and reduced public services, to compensate for the multinationals that do as they please, and that, in addition to earning record profits here, refuse to comply with Canada's laws.
A total of $170 billion has left Canada to be invested in Barbados, the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg.
Ottawa needs to work with its international partners to make sure that honest citizens are not the ones left to foot the bill for those who are cheating the system.
Canadians are doing their part. We need to work harder than ever to combat tax havens, and people can count on the NDP to fix this problem in 2015.
View Bruce Stanton Profile
CPC (ON)

Question No. 1101--
Mr. Peter Stoffer:
With regard to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC): (a) how many individuals filed applications for disability benefits under the Pensions Act, from 2006 to 2014 inclusive, related to exposure to Agent Orange and chemical spraying at CFB Gagetown; (b) out of the individuals in (a), how many (i) were awarded disability benefits, (ii) were denied disability benefits, (iii) appealed the decision, (iv) were denied these benefits upon appeal, (v) received these benefits upon appeal; (c) how many individuals filed applications for disability benefits payments under the New Veterans Charter, from 2006 to 2014 inclusive, related to exposure to Agent Orange and chemical spraying; (d) of the individuals in (c), how many (i) were awarded disability benefits, (ii) were denied disability benefits, (iii) appealed the decision, (iv) were denied these benefits upon appeal, (v) received these benefits upon appeal; (e) how many enquiries were received at VAC call centres with regard to exposure to Agent Orange and chemical spraying at CFB Gagetown, each year from 2012 to 2014 inclusive (i) in total, (ii) broken down by month; and (f) of the enquiries received at VAC call centres, each year from 2012 to 2014 inclusive, related to exposure to Agent Orange and chemical spraying, how many enquiries were from (i) civilians, (ii) veterans?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1102--
Mr. Peter Stoffer:
With regard to the Last Post Fund and agreements in place with Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) related to funeral expenses: (a) for each year from 2006 to 2015 inclusive, how many requests to cover funerals and burial costs have been received by the Last Post Fund; (b) of the requests in (a), how many were (i) accepted, (ii) rejected; (c) of the requests rejected in (b)(ii), how many were denied because they did not meet (i) service-related disability qualifications, (ii) income threshold levels; (d) of the requests accepted in (b)(i), how many were from (i) traditional veterans (First World War, Second World War, Korean War), (ii) modern day veterans (post-Korea); and (e) of the requests rejected in (b)(ii), how many were from (i) traditional veterans (First World War, Second World War, Korean War), (ii) modern day veterans (post-Korea)?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1104--
Mr. Peter Stoffer:
With regard to the Veterans Independence Program (VIP) and the VIP expansion for survivors administered by Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC): (a) how many veterans have received VIP benefits each year from 2006 to 2014 inclusive; (b) how many clients were reassessed for eligibility for VIP benefits each year from 2006 to 2014 inclusive; (c) how many clients reassessed for VIP eligibility each year from 2006 to 2014 inclusive were denied the benefit; (d) from 2006 to 2014 inclusive, out of those veterans who were denied the VIP benefit after reassessment, how many (i) appealed the decision, (ii) did not appeal the decision, (iii) had their benefits reinstated upon appeal, (iv) were denied further benefits upon appeal; (e) how many weeks did it take for VAC to reassess eligibility for VIP benefits each year from 2006 to 2014 inclusive; (f) how many individuals applied for the VIP expansion for survivors each year from 2006 to 2014 inclusive; (g) how many individuals received the VIP expansion for survivors each year from 2006 to 2014 inclusive; (h) of those mentioned in (g), how many qualified as (i) Guaranteed Income Supplement recipients, (ii) Disability Tax Credit recipients; (i) broken down by year, how many individuals who applied to the VIP expansion as listed in (f) were denied the VIP expansion; and (j) out of these veterans listed in (i) how many individuals (i) appealed the decision, (ii) did not appeal the decision, (iii) received this benefit upon appeal, (iv) were denied these benefits upon appeal?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1105--
Hon. Stéphane Dion:
With regard to materials prepared for past or current Assistant Deputy Ministers or their staff from April 1, 2011, to March 31, 2013: for every briefing document or docket prepared, what is (i) the date, (ii) the title or the subject matter, (iii) the department's internal tracking number?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1106--
Hon. Stéphane Dion:
With regard to materials prepared for past or current Parliamentary Secretaries or their staff from April 1, 2011, to March 31, 2013: for every briefing document or docket prepared, what is (i) the date, (ii) the title or the subject matter, (iii) the department's internal tracking number?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1107--
Hon. John McKay:
With respect to offences related to money and other assets held offshore in the period March 31, 2012, to December 31, 2014: (a) how many convictions were there during this period; (b) what are the details of each conviction in (a), including (i) the name of the individuals convicted, (ii) the name and type (i.e. civil or criminal) of offense, (iii) the amount of money or the type of asset and the value of the asset involved, (iv) the location of the money or asset involved, (v) the possible range of penalties/sentences upon conviction, (vi) the actual penalty or sentence received, (vii) whether the conviction was achieved through sentencing, plea bargain, settlement, etc., (viii) the amount of time that passed between the commencement of an audit, investigation, or some other form of compliance action in respect of the offence and the date of conviction; (c) how many offences related to money and other assets held offshore were considered/referred for civil prosecution during this period but never pursued; (d) how many offences related to money and other assets held offshore were considered/referred for criminal prosecution during this period but never pursued; (e) how many offences related to money and other assets held offshore were prosecuted civilly during this period but were thrown out of court or lost in court; and (f) how many offences related to money and other assets held offshore were prosecuted criminally during this period, but were thrown out of court or lost in court?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1108--
Hon. John McKay:
With regard to contracts under $10 000 granted by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited since March 27, 2014: what are the (a) vendors' names; (b) contracts' reference numbers; (c) dates of the contracts; (d) descriptions of the services provided; (e) delivery dates; (f) original contracts' values; and (g) final contracts' values, if different from the original contracts' values?
Response
(Return tabled)
View Barry Devolin Profile
CPC (ON)

Question No. 1058--
Hon. Mark Eyking:
With regard to federal departments operating within Nova Scotia: what was the number of employees for each department, broken down by fiscal year from 2005-2006 to 2013-2014?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1060--
Mr. Ted Hsu:
With regard to Employment and Social Development Canada's January 2015 advertisement entitled “Canada's Apprentice Loans,” available on the Employment and Social Development Canada's Youtube page at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_3dpdC_Rr4: (a) what labour market data, reports, studies, economic analyses or statistical analyses support the assertion in the advertisement that the Canadian economy will need “one million skilled tradesmen and women” over the next decade, broken down by (i) title, (ii) source, (iii) author, (iv) date; and (b) what was the total cost of this advertisement to (i) produce, (ii) place on the air?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1062--
Mr. François Choquette:
With regard to the Old Age Security program: (a) how do government policies define someone who “makes his home and ordinarily lives”; (b) what criteria are used to calculate the number of years of Canadian residence; (c) what is the process for calculating the number of years of Canadian residence; (d) what instructions do public servants have for calculating the number of years of Canadian residence; and (e) how is the duration of travel outside the country estimated in cases where proof of travel is not available?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1064--
Mr. Adam Vaughan:
With respect to employment at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA): (a) how many positions at CRA have been cut as part of the government’s plan to eliminate 19 200 jobs from the federal public service as of 2015, broken down by (i) number of actual positions cut, (ii) number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions cut, (iii) divisions where these cuts have been made, including the total number of positions and FTEs cut from each division, (iv) locations of these cuts across the country; (b) are 3 008 FTE positions still the estimated number of cuts to be made at CRA as part of the plan referred to in (a); (c) in which divisions are the 3 008 FTE positions, or revised target number, anticipated to take place; (d) are any auditors in the Aggressive International Tax Planning (AITP) division to be cut as part of the estimate in (b); (e) how many auditor positions at CRA have been cut as of January 31, 2015; (f) how many auditor positions have been cut from the AITP division as of January 31, 2015; (g) how many auditors were working in AITP before cutbacks, if any, took place; (h) how many auditors are currently working in AITP; and (i) how many auditors were working in AITP, broken down by fiscal year, for each of the past five years, including the current fiscal year?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1065--
Mr. Adam Vaughan:
With respect to the Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments: (a) how many people are employed by the committee; (b) what expenses have been incurred by the committee since its creation; and (c) what expenses have been incurred by individual members of the committee since its creation, broken down by (i) member, (ii) year, (iii) type of expense?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1070--
Mr. Alain Giguère:
With regard to the investment plan and restructuring plan for Canada Post, and its $1 billion pension deficit: (a) what are the implications of this deficit for the government; (b) what are the risks associated with implementing the turnaround plan; and (c) what is the government’s pension liability forecast?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1073--
Ms. Linda Duncan:
With regard to the Western Innovation Initiative (WINN) for each fiscal year from 2012-2013 to 2014-2015, year-to-date: (a) how many applications were submitted to Western Economic Diversification Canada’s (WD) WINN initiative; (b) what is the total amount of funding awarded, broken down by (i) fiscal year, (ii) federal electoral riding, (iii) date the funding was approved, (iv) date the funding was actually provided to each successful applicant; (c) what outreach activities were used to acquire potential applicants and what are the details of individuals or entities invited to briefings organized by WD; (d) what is the success rate of funding applications, broken down by (i) fiscal year, (ii) federal electoral riding; (e) what is the average amount of funding granted, broken down by (i) fiscal year, (ii) federal electoral riding; and (f) what are the requirements imposed by WD for financial commitments by other sources in order to qualify for a WD award?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1082--
Ms. Yvonne Jones:
With respect to staffing at the Canada Revenue Agency: what is the number of personnel, broken down by job title and year, working on aggressive international tax planning from 2003 to 2015, inclusive?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1085--
Ms. Judy Foote:
With regard to the Atlantic Pilotage Authority: (a) what is the staffing level for each pilotage area, broken down by fiscal year from 2011-2012 to present; (b) how many reviews of pilotage requirements are in progress; (c) what are the details of the reviews identified in (b), and, specifically, (i) what are the reasons for the review, (ii) when is the report on potential changes due, (iii) how many pilots are currently employed in the area under review, (iv) how many would be required under proposed changes, (v) what is the rationale for proposed changes, (vi) who requested the review?
Response
(Return tabled)
8555-412-1058 Federal employees8555-412-1060 Government advertising8555-412-1062 Old Age Security8555-412-1064 Canada Revenue Agency8555-412-1065 Advisory Committee on Vice ...8555-412-1070 Canada Post8555-412-1073 Western Innovation Initiative8555-412-1082 Canada Revenue Agency8555-412-1085 Atlantic Pilotage AuthorityAdvertisingAdvisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments ...Show all topics
View Barry Devolin Profile
CPC (ON)

Question No. 1047--
Mr. Sean Casey:
With regard to the communications activities of the Prime Minister’s office: (a) what is the source or provenance of each individual video clip, segment, or shot which was combined to produce the video entitled “24 SEVEN Exclusive: Canada stands strong and free”, which was posted on January 28, 2015; (b) who owns the copyright or any other intellectual property rights in each such video clip, segment, or shot; (c) for each such video clip, segment, or shot, was permission obtained to use the clip, segment, or shot; (d) if the answer to (c) is affirmative, when, how, and from whom was the permission obtained; and (e) if the answer to (c) is affirmative, was the permission obtained in return for payment or other consideration, and what are the details of that payment or consideration?
Response
Mr. Paul Calandra (Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, the response from the Privy Council Office is as follows:
With regard to (a), the sources of each individual video clip, segment or shot used in the “24 SEVEN Exclusive: Canada stands strong and free” are the Canadian Forces Combat Camera, the House of Commons and 24 SEVEN footage.
With regard to part b), the Crown owns the copyright for the Canadian Forces Combat Camera and 24 SEVEN footage. The House of Commons owns the copyright for footage taken from proceedings in the House of Commons.
With regard to parts c) to e), permission to use the material was sought from the House of Commons. The Prime Minister’s Office obtained permission to use the footage in March 2014. This permission was not obtained in return for any payment or other consideration. The Crown owns the copyright for Combat Camera, therefore no official permission to use the material was necessary. The audio-visual team of Combat Camera is aware of its use by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Question No. 1048--
Mr. Ryan Cleary:
With regard to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Canadian Coast Guard and the Manolis L situation: (a) since March 2013, what advice has the Department received from international experts regarding the situation; (b) will a management plan be put in place; and (c) is the government prepared to access a federal clean-up fund to address the situation?
Response
Hon. Gail Shea (Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard remain committed to protecting our oceans from ship-source pollution. The government has made this clear through the ongoing implementation of a world-class tanker safety system.
With regard to (a), since March 2013, the coast guard has received advice from international experts that confirms the effectiveness of ongoing operations. As a response organization, the Canadian Coast Guard continues to look at all options; however, the cofferdam and the coast guard’s ongoing response plan for the Manolis L continues to be effective. The coast guard is prepared to move swiftly to respond if the current situation changes.
With regard to (a), since March 2013, the coast guard has received advice from international experts that confirms the effectiveness of ongoing operations. As a response organization, the Canadian Coast Guard continues to look at all options; however, the cofferdam and the coast guard’s ongoing response plan for the Manolis L continues to be effective. The coast guard is prepared to move swiftly to respond if the current situation changes.
With regard to (c), under Canada’s existing ship-source oil pollution fund, cost recovery is limited to five years from the date of the original incident, which in this case refers to the vessel’s sinking. The government is reviewing long-term options for the management of the Manolis L.

Question No. 1050--
Mr. Ryan Cleary:
With regard to National Defence and its Cormorant Search and Rescue helicopters: (a) what are the details of a pilot project to be carried out this year regarding a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week uniform search and rescue response time; (b) what is the expected completion date; (c) what is the goal of the pilot project; and (d) will the results be presented to Parliament?
Response
Mr. James Bezan (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, each year, search and rescue, SAR, crews and coordinators respond to approximately 10,000 marine, aeronautical and humanitarian incidents nation-wide. The three search and rescue regions, SRRs, in Victoria, Trenton and Halifax work together to oversee SAR operations across Canada, which includes over 18 million square kilometres of land and sea. SAR crews follow a schedule of 40 hours a week of 30-minute SAR response time. Outside of the 40-hour week, SAR crews continue to respond immediately and must be airborne within two hours.
With regard to (a) to (d), the Canadian Armed Forces, CAF, are not currently carrying out a project as described in the question. However, the CAF are in the final year of a project composed of a set of annual trials of SAR response times held over the course of three years. The purpose of this trial project is to adjust response times to better align with the hours and days during which SAR incidents are most likely to occur. While the pre-existing response time will not change, this trial, which will vary for squadrons and aircraft, aims to align the 30-minute response posture with periods of greatest SAR activity based on historical data.
The 2013 trial included the Trenton SRR and in 2014, was refined and expanded to include Victoria. This year’s final trial will be further expanded to include Halifax and will run from May 15 through September 7, 2015.

Question No. 1051--
Mr. Ryan Cleary:
With regard to International Trade: (a) how did the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development arrive at a figure of $280 million as compensation to Newfoundland and Labrador for anticipated losses incurred with the elimination of Minimum Processing Requirements as part of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) deal; (b) when did the EU ask for Minimum Processing Requirements to be lifted as part of CETA negotiations; and (c) for what concessions from the EU was the elimination of Minimum Processing Requirements exchanged?
Response
Hon. Ed Fast (Minister of International Trade, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the historic Canada-EU trade agreement will deliver tremendous benefits for businesses, workers and their families in Newfoundland and Labrador and across Canada. The Province of Newfoundland and Labrador raised significant concerns that the removal of minimum processing requirements, MPRs, would have a negative impact on workers in the fisheries sector. Through discussions, the Government of Canada and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador agreed to cost-share an MPR fund that would be used to compensate those who can demonstrate losses as a result of the removal of MPRs. The Government of Canada looks forward to receiving the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador's specific proposals for this fund, and to moving forward with this historic trade agreement that will present untold economic opportunities for Newfoundland and Labrador.
With regard to (b), in processing parliamentary returns, the government applies the principles set out in the Access to Information Act. Information has been withheld on the grounds that the disclosure of negotiating information could be injurious to bilateral relations between Canada and the EU.
With regard to (c), in processing parliamentary returns, the government applies the principles set out in the Access to Information Act, and information has been withheld on the grounds that the information constitutes cabinet confidences.

Question No. 1052--
Mr. Pierre Dionne Labelle:
With regard to the Offshore Tax Informant Program: (a) since the program was established, (i) how many calls have been received, (ii) how many cases have been opened based on information received from informants, (iii) what is the total amount of the financial awards given to informants, (iv) what is the total amount of money collected by the Canada Revenue Agency; (b) how many current investigations are the result of information received through the program; and (c) how much money is involved in the current investigations?
Response
Hon. Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay (Minister of National Revenue, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a)(i), the Canada Revenue Agency, CRA, launched the offshore tax informant program, OTIP, on January 15, 2014. As of January 31, 2015, the OTIP had received 1,712 calls, 478 of them from potential informants.
With regard to (a)(ii), as of January 31, 2015, the OTIP had received 189 written submissions. Of these, 113 cases are being reviewed by the OTIP to determine program eligibility. There have been 76 cases that do not qualify under the OTIP. Those cases have been closed and where appropriate, referred to other areas within the CRA for possible compliance action.
With regard to (a)(iii), once the OTIP receives a submission, it is evaluated on its merits as to whether it warrants issuing a contract for the potential reward. It may take several years from the date of entering into a contract with the CRA until the additional federal tax is assessed, the taxpayer’s appeal rights have expired and the amount owing is collected. If the CRA assesses and collects more than $100,000 in additional federal tax, the reward will be between 5% and 15% of the federal tax collected, not including interest or penalties. The OTIP is currently engaged in the contracting phase with several informants. No rewards have been paid out to date.
With regard to (a)(iv), the CRA will report to Canadians on results of the OTIP, including the amounts recovered and paid out to informants, through the CRA’s annual report to Parliament, provided that this information does not have the potential to reveal the identity of confidential informants or disclose taxpayer information.
With regard to (b), the OTIP reviews the information provided by informants about potential international tax non-compliance for eligibility purposes. Only after a file is referred will a CRA compliance action potentially confirm whether a taxpayer has been non-compliant and, if so, the dollar amounts involved. The OTIP takes protecting taxpayer and informant information seriously. Given that the program is still in its early stages, disclosing operational information such as the number of compliance actions that may be under way could jeopardize the identity of an informant or compromise the CRA’s compliance actions.
With regard to (c), please see responses provided in (a)(iv) and (b).

Question No. 1053--
Mr. Randall Garrison:
With regard to the Countering Violent Extremism Program of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police: (a) on what date did the program become operational; (b) how many full-time equivalent staff are assigned to the program; (c) how many RCMP members have received training through the program; (d) in which municipalities is the program operating; (e) what total budget has been allocated to the program; (f) how many community associations and places of worship have been engaged through the program; (g) which faith communities have been engaged through the program; and (h) what is the planned duration of the program?
Response
Hon. Steven Blaney (Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the RCMP is currently finalizing the implementation of the countering violent extremism, CVE, program components and anticipating that the program will be fully operational in late 2015. The RCMP has started to provide CVE training to front-line law enforcement across Canada.
With regard to (b) and (e), the CVE mandate is part of the public engagement program that has eight full-time employees operating on a budget of $1.1 million. Throughout the course of the year, additional resources were pulled from various divisions and national headquarters for an additional $2 million. As a result, in fiscal year 2014-15, the RCMP is projecting total expenditures of $3.1 million on its CVE mandate.
With regard to (c), 18 RCMP members have received training through the program. In addition, 12 police officers from outside agencies have received training, from the Toronto Police Service, Vancouver Police Department, Calgary Police Service, Edmonton Police Service, Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, Sûreté du Québec, Service de police de la Ville de Québec, Peel Regional Police, the Ontario Provincial Police and Ottawa Police Service. The RCMP also supported and facilitated the counter terrorism information officer program training for 400 front-line Toronto Police Service officers. The counter terrorism information officer workshop delivery has also been leveraged to provide awareness of radicalization to violence. These workshops, a fixture of the RCMP’s counter terrorism training for nearly a decade with over 1,800 individuals trained to date, provide training to law enforcement and first responders to detect signs of radicalization to violence, build overall terrorism awareness and help serve as a basis for future terrorism prevention program training. In 2014-15, over 647 officers were trained through the workshops, significantly increasing the number of RCMP officers trained in how to detect signs of radicalization.
With regard to (d), (f) and (g), the RCMP CVE program is not aimed at specific individuals or communities. It is designed to work with individuals who have been identified by law enforcement based on a number of pre-determined, unbiased and objective criteria that are grounded in research, or by the community itself. The RCMP works with all its diverse communities and does not focus on specific communities based on their ethnic background or religious faith. The RCMP is committed to building trust with all of the communities it serves to share mutual concerns and develop collective solutions.
With regard to (h), in keeping with its mandate, the RCMP undertakes comprehensive national security outreach efforts to work directly with individuals, families, communities and as such, the CVE does not have a designated duration timeline.

Question No. 1057--
Mr. Mathieu Ravignat:
With regard to a procurement certification agreement between the Treasury Board and the Standards Council of Canada: (a) does such an agreement exist; (b) if the answer in (a) is affirmative, since when; (c) what are the details of the agreement; (d) has the agreement been modified since the date identified in (b), and if so, (i) what are the details of the changes, (ii) when did the changes take effect; and (e) does the text of the agreement refer to training developed and offered by the Canada School of Public Service, and if so, what are the details of this training?
Response
Hon. Tony Clement (President of the Treasury Board, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, there is no procurement certification agreement between the Treasury Board and the Standards Council of Canada.
24 SevenAdult education and trainingAudio-visual productsBezan, JamesBlaney, StevenCalandra, PaulCanada Revenue AgencyCanada School of Public ServiceCanada-European Union Comprehensive Econ ...Canadian Coast GuardCanadian investments abroad ...Show all topics
View Guy Caron Profile
NDP (QC)
Mr. Speaker, we hear that more than 400 of Canada's wealthiest people and businesses had secret bank accounts at HSBC in Geneva.
Honest Canadians who pay their taxes are exasperated at the government's inaction on this. Yesterday, at the Standing Committee on Finance, the Conservatives rejected our motion to get to the bottom of this tax avoidance scheme.
Why is the Conservative government refusing to work with us to fight white collar criminals who are benefiting from tax havens?
View Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay Profile
CPC (BC)
Mr. Speaker, as I said before, this government has zero tolerance for tax evasion.
The CRA received 1,349 files from France related to HSBC. Of those files received, 154 were duplicates, 801 contained zero dollars and 394 were deemed high risk or high dollar files. Where non-compliance was expected, the CRA conducted hundreds of audits, leading to $21 million in taxes and penalties being reassessed. This work is ongoing. Furthermore, the CRA has received over 250 voluntary disclosures identifying $123 million in undisclosed amounts.
View Emmanuel Dubourg Profile
Lib. (QC)
View Emmanuel Dubourg Profile
2014-12-11 14:41 [p.10495]
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have admitted that there has been no progress in the fight against the underground economy in the past five years. What are they proposing? A committee with no targets.
What is more, for the past two years, they have been blocking requests from the Parliamentary Budget Officer to determine how many billions of dollars are hidden in tax havens, when every other country in the G7 has already done those calculations.
Does anyone in the Conservative government care about tax evasion?
View Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay Profile
CPC (BC)
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to say that just a few weeks ago in Toronto I launched a ministerial advisory committee on the underground economy to highlight all of our efforts that have been extremely successful in that area and our enhanced approach to the underground economy, which I also tabled in this House. We are taking that issue very seriously.
As far as the PBO is concerned, we are working with the PBO. There is an issue as to how much we can share with him. We are working on it.
View Murray Rankin Profile
NDP (BC)
View Murray Rankin Profile
2014-12-02 12:12 [p.10047]
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today and speak on Bill C-43.
The title of the bill is rather misleading as it describes a bill to implement the budget and other measures, which is exactly what I want to start with: the process that got us to this place today. This is yet another omnibus budget bill. It is a bill that would actually do much more than what Canadians might think a budget would do.
A budget would be about economic priorities, fiscal matters, and the like. However, yet again, the bill before us is 460 pages in length with 400 clauses and would do so much more than deal with budget measures. It is misleading, in fact, to call it a budget implementation bill when it deals with matters that have nothing in the world to do with budget. Of course, that is the pattern of the Conservatives. This is number five on a long list of budget bills.
I have the honour of representing Victoria, and I sit on the finance committee where, frequently, we deal with matters that have absolutely nothing to do with finance. I have a little trouble back in the riding explaining what I am doing talking about those measures, but that, I guess, is just the way it is. However, I also have difficulty explaining why amendments are proposed and uniformly voted down by the Conservatives, even when those amendments are self-evident improvements to a bill in specific matters.
Having spoken about the failed process, the anti-democratic process that led us to this place, I would like to talk about the substance. I will speak about the things we would support and oppose in the bill, and the things that are glaringly obvious by omission in the bill.
It must be said that there are things that are supportable in the bill. One that comes to mind initially is the NDP's long-standing proposal to deal with the pay-to-pay problem. Seniors in my riding of Victoria constantly complain about paying more for a telecommunications bill if they get it on paper rather than online. They do not have a computer and they do not want to do that. Well, the government, in its typical way, went halfway. The Conservatives went along with the pay-to-pay provisions vis-à-vis broadcasting enterprises and telcos, but I guess the banks had a better lobby, because glaringly obvious in omission is anything to do with bank fees. I guess that is because the banks had a better lobby than telcos, or perhaps there were disputes elsewhere with that sector of the economy. However, at least the Conservatives went halfway, and we give them credit for that half measure.
Second, there were measures to improve the clarity and integrity of the tax code, which is something New Democrats had been proposing for a long time. However, so much more needs to be done about tax evasion, and I will talk about that in just a moment.
There are other issues, such as the implementation of a DNA data code to help solve the crisis in missing aboriginal women and girls. This is a long-standing proposal that the government has now recognized, and we accept that.
Last, there is the backlog on appeals to the Social Security Tribunal. This will be addressed by allowing more members to be appointed, which, again, is something that has been sought by the NDP for many years.
I said that I would talk about what was missing from the bill. There is $7.8 billion a year that is missing, and that could be available to Canadians if the government were serious about the issue of tax havens. It has been a passion of mine to try to get the government to take this seriously.
However, $7.8 billion is an estimate, and it can only be an estimate. Contrary to the Parliamentary Budget Officer's attempts, our attempts, and the Senate's attempts to get the government to actually measure the tax gap, as our friends in the U.K., France, and the United States have been doing for years, the current Conservative government somehow thinks it is a waste of time and cannot be bothered.
If we do not measure something, how can we manage it? Is that not public administration 101? However, the government refuses, and so I can only give an estimate, which can be accused of being high or low, but it is a big number.
Corporate tax avoidance, in particular, is a global epidemic. Even though Canada is proud, and the Conservatives are, of having the lowest corporate tax rate in the G7, we still have corporations that send their money abroad.
An example is tax shifting or transfer pricing. In order to pay even less tax, those companies that have the lowest corporate tax rates in the G7 still have their favourite trick. What is that? They sell a patent to an offshore subsidiary. Then they charge themselves licensing fees for the use of the same patent. That is a good trick.
Other countries have closed that loophole. We do not seem to care.
I have introduced Bill C-621, which would address the economic substance and require that there actually be economic substance before those paper transactions are allowed, costing the Canadian treasury billions of dollars because the government simply does not want to take the time to go after corporate friends on Bay Street.
Bill C-621 would do what Dr. Robert McMechan wrote about in his book Economic Substance and Tax Avoidance: An International Perspective. Dr. McMechan, who really helped in drafting Bill C-621, pointed out in his doctoral thesis at Osgoode Law School, having been a practitioner with the Department of Justice and doing tax litigation for many years, that the government could close this loophole if the courts could get back on track with looking at the economic substance of transactions rather than whether or not they appear to be okay on paper. That is something like going after the general anti-avoidance rules vis-à-vis corporate tax avoidance.
That is what my very short bill, Bill C-621, would do. It would basically put Canada on track, as Dr. McMechan points out, as regards our other allies whose courts seem to have stuck to economic substance. Ours, I am afraid, have gone off the rails.
There is a lot of money we are not going after. A few years ago the Conservatives, faced with 106 Canadians with secret bank accounts totalling over $100 million in Liechtenstein, did nothing. How many have been charged? How many have they gone after? Apparently they have gone after none.
Compare our woeful record of doing little to go after tax evaders with Australia's Project Wickenby or the action going on in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom to go after tax avoiders. Canadians should be ashamed of their government's performance.
Back in September, somebody from inside the department wrote us and said the minister announced that the elimination of a host of senior tax office positions at the local level, including in the international and aggressive tax planning programs. Seventy individuals, with over 1,000 years of cumulative specialized expertise in going after these intricate, complicated corporate transactions, were gone. Fifty people in CRA alone lost their jobs. That is the priority of the Conservatives in going after what could have been an enormous source of revenue. That is missing in this budget.
I have talked about what we like in this budget and what is absolutely missing. In terms of things that ought not to be in a budget but that need to be done is more action on youth unemployment and on homelessness. Homelessness is a crisis in my community of Victoria. I attended a lecture by Dr. Gaetz of York University, who pointed out that homelessness costs the Canadian economy $7 billion per year if we take into account social services, health care, corrections, and interaction with law enforcement. That is an enormous number. If investments were made to deal with that, the return on the investment—language the Conservatives would apparently like—would be enormous. For example, for the hardest to house, for every $10 we invest in Housing First initiatives to address homelessness, $22 would be achieved through offset costs.
There is a crisis in affordable housing. We are not using the income tax system to incent the creation of affordable, low-cost rental housing in communities. We have lots of condos, but we do not have housing for those people who are living hand to mouth in our communities and who are themselves just a few steps away from being homeless.
In conclusion, it is politics 011 that a budget reflects the priorities of a government. The government's priorities do not deal with the crises of unemployment and homelessness, nor fairness and equity, nor does it provide income for Canadians by actually going after money in tax havens in a more aggressive way, as so many of our allies have done.
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