Question No. 582--
Mr. Alexander Nuttall:
With regard to the government’s plan to implement a carbon tax or carbon price: (a) for vendors that sell products subject to a carbon tax or price on carbon, will the vendors be required to include the carbon tax or price on carbon when calculating the amount of consumption taxes associated with the purchase, including (i) Goods and Services Tax (GST), (ii) Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) (broken down by province), (iii) Excise Tax, (iv) Transportation Taxes; and (b) what is the projected increase in government revenue for each of the next five fiscal years as a result of increased revenue from (i) GST, (ii) HST, (iii) Excise Tax?
Response
Mr. François-Philippe Champagne (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is proposing pan-Canadian pricing for carbon pollution, which would be implemented across the country by 2018. Under the proposed pan-Canadian approach, provinces and territories will have the flexibility to choose between two systems: a direct price on carbon pollution or a cap and trade system. Currently, British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, representing over 80 per cent of the population, have already implemented or introduced legislation to implement carbon pricing.
The government will introduce a backstop pricing system that will apply in jurisdictions that do not meet a national carbon pricing benchmark. That federal backstop system is currently under development, and details on its application will be announced at a future date.
With respect to the impacts of carbon pricing on other federal and provincial revenue sources, the extent to which these revenues may be impacted will depend on the approaches taken individually by provinces and territories in implementing a carbon price that meets the proposed pan-Canadian benchmark for carbon pricing.
Question No. 584--
Hon. Michelle Rempel:
With regard to the team that the government dispatched to Iraq in October 2016 on a fact-finding mission in relation to Yazidi refugees and the mission itself: (a) what date did the team members arrive in Iraq; (b) what date did the team members return to Canada; (c) what was the detailed itinerary; (d) what locations were visited; (e) what refugee facilities were visited; (f) what were the titles of all (i) government officials, (ii) United Nations officials, (iii) officials from non-governmental organizations, with whom the team members met; (g) what was the date and location of all meetings referred to in (f); (h) did the team members meet with Yazidis who were internally displaced persons (IDPs) in United Nations camps and, if so, what are the details of such meetings; (i) did the team members meet with Yazidis who were IDPs living independent of the UN camps and, if so, what are the details of such meetings; (j) who were the government representatives on the mission; and (k) what was the objective of the government representatives on the mission?
Response
Hon. John McCallum (Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, insofar as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IRCC, is concerned, IRCC officials travelled to Erbil, Iraq, in October 2016 to conduct interviews with Syrian refugee applicants and to consult with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration on a potential program for individuals who have suffered grievously at the hands of Daesh, including Yazidis.
For operational security reasons, further details of the trip cannot be provided, as this information has the potential of putting at risk the safety of IRCC officials, partners, and vulnerable populations.
IRCC has engaged and consulted with trusted international partners, non-governmental organizations, and governments in developing the plan for a program aimed at individuals who have suffered grievously at the hands of Daesh, including Yazidis.
Question No. 589--
Mr. John Brassard:
With regard to Senate appointments recommended by the Prime Minister in March 2016, and the response from the Prime Minister’s Office to Q-288 where it said “The advisory board established a list of five qualified candidates for each of five vacancies, for a total of 25 recommended candidates”: (a) of the seven senators appointed in March 2016, from which list did each name originate; and (b) were any of the appointed senators not on one of the five lists of recommended candidates and, if so, which ones?
Response
Mrs. Celina Caesar-Chavannes (Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, in the transitional phase of the new Senate appointments process, the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments, the advisory board, provided their advice to the Prime Minister in accordance with their terms of reference, OIC 2016-0011. They established one list with a total of 25 recommended candidates, representing five qualified candidates for each of the five vacancies. The list of recommended candidates was broken down by province. As noted in his March 18, 2016 news release, the Prime Minister made his seven recommendations--three from Ontario, two from Manitoba, and two from Quebec--for the transitional process from the list of candidates for these provinces provided by the advisory board.