Question No. 841--
Mr. Kelly McCauley:
With regard to executive performance pay or bonus payments made by Public Services and Procurement Canada to its employees since November 4, 2015: (a) what is the total amount paid out; (b) how many individuals received payments, broken down by (i) the dates that each individual was awarded executive performance pay or bonuses, (ii) the branch and region that each individual belonged to at the time they received executive performance pay or bonuses; (c) what is the average amount of the payments; and (d) what is the highest amount of the payments?
Response
Mr. Steven MacKinnon (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, the Treasury Board Secretariat, TBS, prescribes how performance pay is administered through the directive on the performance management program for executives. The majority of executives are eligible for performance pay, including at-risk pay, in-range increase, and potentially a bonus. The amounts depend on the performance rating. Executive pay is a responsibility of the deputy minister and the clerk, and not the minister.
With regard to (a), the total amount paid out for the performance cycle April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016, for executives eligible for performance pay was $4,827,913.00. This amount does not include the in-range increases--i.e., the increase in annual salary--which is part of performance pay and is also determined by the performance rating.
With regard to (b), 340 executives received payments. With regard to (b)(i), most performance payments were paid December 14 and December 28, 2016. With regard to (b)(ii), in processing parliamentary returns, the government applies the Privacy Act and the principles set out in the Access to Information Act, and certain information has been withheld on the grounds that the information constitutes personal information.
With regard to (c), the average payment amount, including bonus payments, is $14,199.74. This is averaged out among the 340 who received payments.
With regard to (d), in processing parliamentary returns, the government applies the Privacy Act and the principles set out in the Access to Information Act, and certain information has been withheld on the grounds that the information constitutes personal information.
Question No. 846--
Mr. Tom Lukiwski:
With regard to the government’s announcement to provide 372.5 million dollars in repayable loans to Bombardier: (a) what are the terms of repayment; (b) how much is expected to be repaid, broken down by year, until the loans are repaid; and (c) what interest rate will Bombardier be charged?
Response
Hon. Navdeep Bains (Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker,
with regard to the government’s announcement to provide $372.5 million in repayable loans to Bombardier, the particulars of the contribution cannot be provided as the final agreement has yet to be finalized. In addition, information that is commercially confidential and/or sensitive cannot be publicly released.
These types of contributions are subject to ongoing reporting requirements throughout the project’s life cycle, including the repayment phase.
The Government of Canada is committed to the long-term viability and success of the Canadian aerospace sector, and an announcement of support for Bombardier will help secure thousands of high-quality jobs for Canadians across the country.
The aerospace industry is one of the most innovative and export-driven industries in Canada and contributes over 211,000 quality direct and indirect jobs for Canadians and $28 billion annually in gross domestic product to Canada’s economy. Bombardier is Canada’s highest private sector investor in research and development, and its position as an anchor company in the aerospace sector is vital for the success of nearly 800 suppliers in Canada.
The Government of Canada is proud to support leading-edge technology and job creation, while enabling Bombardier to grow as a globally competitive company for years to come.
Question No. 861--
Mr. Dan Albas:
With regard to the government’s economic update released on November 1, 2016: (a) why were the long-term fiscal projections, including the deficit forecasts, released on that date; (b) who made the decision to withhold the release of the projections; and (c) on what date was the decision to withhold the projections made?
Response
Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, for over a decade now, Canada has been in a period of low economic growth, and middle-class families have found it hard to get ahead. The “Update of Long-Term Economic and Fiscal Projections” shows the impact this period of slow growth has had on the country’s bottom line and speaks to the importance of making smart, necessary investments to strengthen the middle class and grow the economy in the long term. The report was timed with the release of the fiscal monitor to provide a more complete picture of Canada’s fiscal position. In keeping with previous years, the report was published on a government website in an open and transparent way and made available to all Canadians. The long-term projections are based on assumptions that will inevitably evolve. Small changes in growth rates, productivity, or spending have the potential to have a big impact.
The government will continue to invest in its people, its communities, and the skills Canadians will need to prosper in the new, more innovative economy of tomorrow.
Question No. 869--
Mr. Harold Albrecht:
With regard to VIA Rail: (a) how much are the total expenditures VIA Rail has provided to Canada 2020 since January 1, 2016; (b) what is the breakdown of each individual expenditure in (a); (c) what was the purpose of each expenditure in (a); and (d) who approved each expenditure in (a)?
Response
Hon. Marc Garneau (Minister of Transport, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, as part of its corporate social responsibility policy, VIA Rail Canada Inc. partners with various non-governmental and non-profit organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Canada 2020, and the Public Policy Forum, as these organizations address emerging and complex public policy issues that could have an impact on passenger rail transportation. For these partnerships, VIA Rail does not provide monetary contributions to organizations, but rather an exchange of services through the provision of rail travel in exchange for access to conferences and seminars. These partnerships also include the opportunity to increase the visibility of VIA Rail’s brand on partners’ platforms, including the web, conferences, and seminars, in order to encourage more Canadians to use our passenger train service.
In some instances, VIA Rail pays the required fees to attend conferences or seminars, as it has for recent events organized by the C.D. Howe Institute, the Manning Centre, Canada 2020, the Broadbent Institute, chambers of commerce, and the Conference Board of Canada.
With regard to (a), VIA Rail’s expenditures, disbursed in the form of an exchange of services with Canada 2020 and conference fees, are $17,354.04.
With regard to (b), these expenditures include $17,000 in rail travel since January 1, 2016, and $354.04 in conference attendance fees since January 1, 2016.
With regard to (c), the purpose of the two expenditures includes the exchange of services through the provision of rail travel, conference attendance fees, and increasing the visibility of VIA Rail’s brand.
With regard to (d), Jacques Fauteux, VIA Rail’s director of government and community relations, approved the expenditures.
Question No. 870--
Mr. Ziad Aboultaif:
With regard to the commitment on Page 80 of the Liberal Party’s election platform related to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the “tax gap”: (a) what is the current tax gap level in Canada; (b) when will the CRA be publically releasing the full statistics relating to the annual tax evasion and the tax gap levels; (c) has the CRA provided the Parliamentary Budget Officer with the information required so that he can do an analysis on tax gap levels and, if so, on what date was the information provided; and (d) does the government have any annual goals or timelines for reducing the tax gap levels and, if so, what are the goals for each of the next five years?
Response
Hon. Diane Lebouthillier (Minister of National Revenue, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, with regard to parts (a) and (b), as a first step in its work on the tax gap, the CRA published on June 30, 2016, an estimate of the GST/HST gap as well as a conceptual study on tax gap estimation that explained the benefits and the limitations of the concept. The CRA is committed to ongoing work and analysis on the various components of the gap. Like most tax administrations worldwide, the CRA does not estimate an overall tax gap covering all taxes. Some tax administrations estimate components of the tax gap where there is available data. For example, tax gap estimates of value-added taxes, such as the GST/HST, are the most common.
As part of the CRA’s ongoing work on the tax gap, it has committed to publishing a series of additional papers on other aspects of the tax gap over the next two to three years. Some of these papers will contain estimates of particular components of the tax gap, while others will be more theoretical in nature. The next paper will be published this spring.
This is consistent with the government’s response to the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Finance, “Canada Revenue Agency`s Efforts to Combat Tax Avoidance and Evasion”, recommendation 7, tabled in Parliament on February 22, 2017.
With regard to part (c), with respect to requests to provide the parliamentary budget officer, the PBO, with data to estimate the tax gap, expert legal advice confirmed that provisions contained in both section 241 of the Income Tax Act and section 295 of the Excise Tax Act prevent the CRA from releasing taxpayer information that could directly or indirectly lead to the identification of specific taxpayers. The CRA had offered to provide aggregate anonymized data, maintaining that this would allow the PBO to undertake research and provide independent analysis while enabling the CRA to safeguard confidentiality of tax information, as required by the provisions noted above. This alternative was declined. As the CRA continues its work on the tax gap, it looks forward to continued collaboration with all parties involved and acknowledges the work accomplished thus far by all stakeholders.
With regard to part (d), the experience of countries that estimate their tax gaps does not support targeting specific tax gap reductions in specific years, as many factors other than compliance activities can influence the level of the tax gap, such as economic cycles and policy changes. For example, during an economic downturn, more individuals may not be able to pay all of their taxes on time.
That said, many of the CRA’s compliance efforts are expected to help reduce the tax gap in the medium term. The revenue impact from audit grew from $8.6 billion in 2012-13 to $12.8 billion in 2015 16. Integrity measures announced in budget 2016 are expected to increase tax revenues by more than $1.2 billion over five years, starting in 2016–17. In addition, budget 2016 announced investments for the CRA to enhance its efforts to crack down on tax evasion and combat tax avoidance, including hiring additional auditors and developing robust business intelligence infrastructure, goals, and targets associated with audit investment. The hiring of additional auditors and specialists who will help detect, pursue, and deliver sanctions to those who avoid paying the tax they owe will increase the number of examinations focused on high-risk individual taxpayers from 600 to 3000 a year within five years, and on high-risk multinational corporations. The CRA plans to expand its review of electronic funds transfers in 2017 by reviewing over 100,000 transactions for four additional jurisdictions of concern. The expected revenue impact of these and other measures is $2.6 billion over five years.
Budget 2016 also announced funding for the CRA to improve its ability to collect outstanding tax debts. The agency has committed to collecting an additional $7.4 billion over a five-year period.
As well, the CRA continues to implement a strategy for small and medium-sized enterprises that includes the liaison officer initiative, industry campaign approach, and office audit letter campaign, which provide assistance and information to taxpayers on how to be compliant and avoid potential tax pitfalls.
CRA interventions, which focus on areas of higher risk and target the underground economy, will continue to benefit from the use of business intelligence and data mining capabilities designed to better predict taxpayer behaviour.