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Results: 1 - 15 of 196
Joel Blit
View Joel Blit Profile
Joel Blit
2021-06-21 17:43
I would say in net terms, it's not clear that it would be a big benefit from immigration.
View Rhéal Fortin Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Senator Boisvenu, I'd be glad to give you some time later to tell us about your thoughts on this matter.
First though, I have a question for Dr. Wemmers.
Dr. Wemmers, I liked the four subjects that you presented, particularly the fourth. It's about strengthening the mechanisms and their implementation.
In your view, are the services currently available from the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime adequate and appropriate for dealing with the various situations? Should changes be made? Should certain responsibilities be transferred to another victim assistance service?
Jo-Anne Wemmers
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Jo-Anne Wemmers
2021-06-08 12:35
Thank you for the question.
I believe that the ombudsman is doing very good work, and the fact that this position was created is wonderful. However, as Senator Boisvenu said, and as was mentioned in the ombudsman's report, it's important to centralize complaints. Complaints can currently be made to several different authorities, and it is therefore difficult to get an overview and identify gaps.
If all the complaints were sent to the ombudsman's office, it would help us identify the problems, priorities and areas to work on. It would therefore be important to do that.
Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu
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Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu
2021-06-08 12:39
The key weakness in victim assistance, particularly with respect to restitution, is that it's a provincial jurisdiction. Four provinces have good services, four have minimal services, and four provinces and territories do not offer any victim services. Canadians are therefore not equal before the law.
Furthermore, if a crime is committed in Ontario but the victim is from Quebec, there will be no compensation from the victim's province of residence. The Minister of Justice should show leadership and set minimum standards, as is the case for health and various programs, to make sure that all Canadians are treated equally, no matter where the crime was committed. It's ridiculous that a Quebecker who is assaulted in Vancouver, for instance, would not receive assistance from either British Columbia or Quebec. However, Quebec tends to do so under its new act.
Leadership definitely needs to be developed within the federal government, at meetings of the ministers of justice, to discuss reciprocity between the provinces and basic standards in terms of victim assistance. I think that's the very least the country should do.
View Randall Garrison Profile
NDP (BC)
Thank you very much for that answer.
I have a question for Dr. Wemmers.
As a former criminologist myself, I used to tell my students that no one would design a criminal justice system like the one we have, with this division of powers federally and provincially, because it was built on 19th-century historic circumstances, so I think Dr. Wemmers has made a useful suggestion in the idea of establishing minimum standards for services available to victims. I wonder if she could tell us a bit more about how she thinks that would work.
Jo-Anne Wemmers
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Jo-Anne Wemmers
2021-06-08 12:44
As was mentioned also by the senator, we do it for other things like medical services, where there are at least minimum requirements across the country, and then it's for the rest of the provinces to fill it in the way they see fit.
I think the point of departure would be the UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power.
If you wish, as well, there are even better examples. For example, the Council of Europe, which is much more specific and detailed, runs along the same lines and essentially says the same thing, but with more detail and more accuracy. In that sense, it is interesting to point out that the Council of Europe is currently working on a new recommendation for victims of crime as well, so it's something we're seeing internationally. It would be an opportunity for Canada to catch up, because, while I think Canada used to be a leader when it came to victims rights in the 1980s, we seem to have lost that lead in the last 20 years, unfortunately, and I would be very happy to see us do better. We can do better.
View Christine Normandin Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you very much.
You talk about the fact that many immigrants stay in Montreal. But the language issue is what comes to mind. Unfortunately, it is said that it's much easier to speak English in Montreal than in the regions. Francization is an issue. Many people in the regions tell us about the importance of francization, which companies handle themselves by providing francization services to retain employees.
Has this aspect been covered in your analyses for Quebec with regard to retention in the regions? Have there been studies on this subject?
Catrina Tapley
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Catrina Tapley
2021-06-02 17:57
I'm not aware of studies per se, but we can look into it.
Second, I think you make a really important point for us on the availability of our services en français hors Québec. For our settlement services, we need to be able to run quality settlement services in French outside of Quebec for immigrants who are coming to Canada and want to live and work in French and support the vitality of francophone minority communities outside of Quebec. This is key to this department.
We have expanded our French settlement services outside of Quebec. We're working closely with organizations like the FCFA and others, and we'll continue to do this.
I'll double-check, Madam Chair, on studies as we've done this, but that's on our settlement services.
View Christine Normandin Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you very much.
Services are another aspect of regionalization. I'm thinking of Service Canada points of service, for example, which are often not very accessible in the regions. I know that this is not the responsibility of IRCC, but is this a criterion that your department considers?
Catrina Tapley
View Catrina Tapley Profile
Catrina Tapley
2021-06-02 18:20
This may not be exactly what we are talking about, but I will make a few comments all the same.
Services available to newcomers, whether in Quebec or in the rest of Canada, are really important. It's important that we look at this as a whole in terms of what government services are available to newcomers. That's why it's so important that we work closely with our provinces and territories in terms of who is providing what services to whom. A better coordination between those services and the work we've done with PTs on that is really important.
View Irek Kusmierczyk Profile
Lib. (ON)
Are there additional risks or challenges that this service simplification or streamlining represents in terms of cybersecurity?
Marc Brouillard
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Marc Brouillard
2021-05-31 16:30
Under the current model, if you had all services accessible under a single credential and that credential was compromised, there would obviously be an increased risk. What we're doing to address that is making sure this is bound not just through a credential but through a true digital identity, something that is verifiable and highly secure. For example, you would need to be able to provide access to your provincial identity plus maybe a password or some other form of identification. Multiple actions are required to gain access to it. We call that multifactor authentication. That's how this service will be more secure.
View Steven MacKinnon Profile
Lib. (QC)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to welcome the minister and the representatives of Treasury Board Secretariat and Shared Services Canada.
To begin, I would like to recognize the incredible efforts that have been made by Shared Services Canada during the pandemic to offer public servants flexibility by giving them the opportunity to telework.
Everyone is grateful for all the efforts that those employees have made, as have you, Minister. They have performed a remarkable feat. We were afraid at the beginning, but we have witnessed quite an achievement. We also thank all the people who are working so hard to make sure that their colleagues have access to services.
My first question is for you, Minister, and relates to the pandemic.
I would like to know your personal thoughts. Has the pandemic accelerated our efforts regarding the digital transformation in the Government of Canada? If so, in what way?
View Joyce Murray Profile
Lib. (BC)
Thanks so much for the question, but especially thank you for the shout-out to the public servants of Canada who indeed did respond very quickly and effectively to provide updated tools and systems for the public servants who were at the front lines providing services.
We have learned a number of things from this pandemic period. One is the importance of working across government in a platform approach, which then is a challenge because, of course, historically departments have been in their own silos and doing their own work to provide the IT systems [Technical difficulty—Editor] to their officials to provide their services. We're finding that we can avoid a lot of duplication by looking at a government-wide approach to systems and connectivity. Where that is especially important is in security, because more and more that's an area that is sophisticated and challenging. We are utterly committed to providing secure data for Canadians.
Debi Daviau
View Debi Daviau Profile
Debi Daviau
2021-05-06 15:50
Thanks for having us.
My name is Debi Daviau, and I'm the president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, or PIPSC. It's the national union that represents some 12,000 auditors and other tax professionals at the CRA across the country. Our members are skilled professionals and knowledgeable tax experts who ensure that powerful corporations and wealthy individuals remain just as accountable as the rest of us.
With me today is Mr. Ryan Campbell, our union economist and my technical adviser today.
We'd like to thank you for the opportunity to present our views on this critical issue. Together we'd be happy to answer any and all questions you may have after our presentation.
We've researched this issue from the point of view of tax professionals at the Canada Revenue Agency and produced three reports on tax avoidance and evasion. You can find them on our website at PIPSC.ca. I'd be happy to forward copies to the committee members as a follow-up to this meeting.
Few Canadians enjoy paying taxes, but they understand that it's important to do it. Taxes fund the public services that make us healthier and safer, protect the environment and nurture a stable economy in which businesses can thrive and compete.
A healthy tax system is defined by fairness and integrity. The rules must apply to everyone. Unfortunately, many wealthy individuals and corporations use their superior resources to look for a shelter or haven where the tax rules don't apply. While these privileged few get a reduced tax bill, governments lose revenue for public services, resulting in either service cuts or tax hikes for everybody else.
In February 2018, we conducted a survey of professional staff at the CRA, including auditors, managers, forensic accountants, economists, statisticians and actuaries. Their responses were eye-opening.
Much of the criticism levelled at Canada's tax system is that while it is designed to be fair, it's easier for some to get around the rules than it is for others. In our survey, nine out of 10 tax professionals at the Canada Revenue Agency agreed that it's easier for corporations and wealthy individuals to evade and/or avoid tax responsibilities than it is for average Canadians. Environics Research put that same question to the general public and found that eight out of 10 respondents felt the same way.
You should find it troubling that CRA professionals with special knowledge of the inner workings of the tax system were more likely to agree than an average Canadian. Over eight out of 10 also agreed that tax credits, tax exemptions and tax loopholes disproportionately benefit corporations and wealthy Canadians compared to average Canadians.
When asked if multinational corporations shift profits to low-tax regions, even when there is little or no corresponding economic activity taking place in that jurisdiction, three out of four respondents agreed. When asked if the CRA has adequate audit coverage capacity to ensure tax laws are being applied fairly across the country, only 16% of respondents agreed. When asked if training and technology advancements within CRA have not kept pace with the complexity of tax avoidance schemes, 79% of the respondents agreed.
All of these survey results confirm one basic fact: Canadians deserve a rigorous examination of the tax system.
Our CRA professionals are among the best in the world at what they do, but they face great challenges. Their job is to go after individuals and entities that in effect have unlimited resources and can aggressively exploit legal and international grey areas for their own gain. The CRA employees, by comparison, often feel outdone by those trying hardest to avoid taxes.
In 2012, sweeping budget cuts were introduced to the agency. Even with the more recent government reinvestments, it still doesn't have all the tools and staff it needs to get this job done
Does this make any sense when the Parliamentary Budget Officer's own numbers show a $5 return for every dollar invested in combatting international tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance? Does this make sense at a time when government spending has skyrocketed to deal with the social and economic impact of the pandemic?
We need to fix this now. More than ever, Canadians need the tens of billions of dollars in tax revenue, if not more, that are sitting in offshore tax havens.
We believe that a number of steps can be taken to correct the situation.
First, we need better enforcement of existing tax laws. One of the simplest ways to make the system fairer is to ensure that the same rules apply to everyone.
Second, we need to prevent political interference at the CRA. This was particularly visible during the previous decade when the CRA was accused of shifting its focus away from big tax cheats to individuals, charities and small businesses.
Third, because CRA officials are frequently put in precarious situations in which they are asked to hold powerful players to account in a high-stakes setting, whistle-blower protection is crucial to ensuring that professional integrity is paramount during the tax assessment process.
Fourth, while government investments in the CRA have increased in recent federal budgets, Canada's population continues to grow, and so do the amount of commerce and the complexity of tax evasion schemes. The CRA needs to hire more technical advisers and to invest in technology and training to deal with these factors.
Fifth, the CRA must enhance the capacity of its regional offices. The Auditor General has found that taxpayers receive different treatment from the CRA depending on where they live and who they are. Its regional offices need the appropriate resources to ensure that laws are applied fairly from coast to coast.
Finally, a number of policy reforms need to be undertaken. Budget 2021 announced initiatives that when implemented will take tangible steps in the direction of tax fairness. These include a digital service tax for companies like Netflix and Amazon and the creation of a publicly accessible beneficial ownership registry. These are both important initiatives long championed by PIPSC members and our allies in civil society.
While these changes are welcomed, we still have work to do. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has estimated that as much as $25 billion of corporate tax revenue is lost to tax havens every year. We must do more to end the transfer pricing and profit shifting that facilitate this destructive practice.
As of now, some incremental steps are being taken, but there are a variety of additional actions that could be put in place. The end result would be a new, simplified view of the global commercial landscape, one in which corporations can be prevented from pitting countries against each other and are taxed fairly everywhere.
In conclusion, CRA professionals must receive the training, tools and resources they need to do their jobs. The CRA must receive appropriate funding to ensure that tax laws are enforced equitably and that wealthy individuals and powerful corporations are just as accountable as any other Canadian.
Additionally, there needs to be international co-operation and updates to legislation so that those who try the hardest to avoid taxes end up paying their fair share anyway.
Thank you for your time. Mr. Campbell and I would be pleased to answer your questions.
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