44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 21, 2022 10:00AM
- Jun/21/22 2:37:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased and very surprised to my colleague opposite's enthusiasm for tackling tax evasion.
He knows very well that I cannot comment on specific cases. Furthermore, my colleague should know that the Canada Revenue Agency conducts its investigations independently. I do not intervene in investigations, nor do I conduct them.
We will continue to work hard to address tax evasion in Canada and abroad.
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- Jun/21/22 2:38:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is the same minister who, weeks ago, kept telling us that the net was tightening. The reality is that she is the one getting caught up in the net.
In 2017, she said that she was going to make this public and that the whole truth would come out. The investigation has been over for a year and the minister said that once everything was public, it would all become clearer and they would comment on it. Now, for a whole year, she has said nothing.
Why, once again, is the government refusing to get to the bottom of this? Why, when it is time to talk, do its representatives have nothing to say?
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- Jun/21/22 2:39:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, I cannot comment on specific cases.
My colleague should know that the Canada Revenue Agency is independent, and that we do not interfere with or direct investigations.
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- Jun/21/22 2:39:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the situation at passport offices is getting out of hand. According to TVA, at the end of the ordeal, the lucky ones who do get their passports at Guy-Favreau complex in Montreal are still being charged extra fees. Despite the minister's instructions today, people are being charged $110. Despite the minister's instructions, the federal government is making Quebeckers and Canadians pay for its mistake. The minister has no control over her department.
When will she finally ensure that people can get their passports without extra fees?
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- Jun/21/22 2:40:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I will tell my colleague that the instruction given to all Service Canada employees is that if passports are issued outside the standard service times, there is no additional charge. We will say it again. It is clear and the directive has been given across the country. We are going to make sure it is enforced on the ground.
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- Jun/21/22 2:40:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, nothing is clear these days. People are being treated like cattle at passport offices. Instead of managing the crisis effectively, security officers at the Guy-Favreau complex reportedly threw out a journalist who was reporting on the line-ups.
If things are so bad that they cannot be shown on TV, the answer is not to kick out the media. The answer is to do a better job of managing the crisis.
When will the government extend hours of operation, reassign public servants, treat citizens with respect and ensure that everyone gets their passport?
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- Jun/21/22 2:41:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the situation in Montreal is completely unacceptable. I have heard about this situation and it is clearly not what should be happening.
I assure my colleagues that anyone in Montreal who is travelling in the next 48 hours is getting their passport. Applicants are being triaged in line. Senior management is on the ground to help manage the situation, and although the volume of applications has skyrocketed, this situation is unacceptable.
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- Jun/21/22 2:41:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last week, the Minister of Finance once again made an announcement about inflation without giving one cent to our farmers.
She has been warned for months that agriculture is at risk. Inflation strikes farmers three times, not just once. The price of fuel, fertilizer and animal feed has skyrocketed and added $1.5 billion to their costs.
If Ottawa does nothing, producers could go bankrupt and the price of food will continue to rise. Farmers submitted specific requests to the minister. When will she finally support them?
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- Jun/21/22 2:42:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I agree with my colleague that our farmers work extremely hard and that, just like society as a whole, they are faced with very high prices right now for food, inputs and energy.
That is why we are helping them in different ways. Last year, the Department of Agriculture had its largest budget ever, with $4 billion for the agricultural sector.
I assure my colleague that we are working on different options to see how we can provide our farmers with more assistance.
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- Jun/21/22 2:43:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the utter chaos experienced by Canadians simply trying to obtain a passport from their own government is a crisis solely of the Prime Minister's making. A summer that should have provided much-needed relief after two years of significant stress has instead turned into an endless nightmare of dangerous passport office all-nighters and infuriatingly long hold times, often ending in abruptly dropped calls. A year ago, as this fully predictable situation was brewing, the Prime Minister called a completely unnecessary election.
Will he now admit that he was wrong to put his political interests ahead of the Canadians he was elected to serve?
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- Jun/21/22 2:43:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned several times in the House, we are experiencing an unprecedented volume in terms of passport applications. We have, in fact, been planning for this surge and that is why 600 employees were hired since January. Another 600 are in the process of being hired. We are rearranging and reallocating resources within Service Canada and also within other government departments. We understand the situation. We understand the frustration of Canadians, and we will continue to do everything that we can to support Canadians in getting their passports in a timely fashion.
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- Jun/21/22 2:44:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Sally still has not received her new passport that she applied for in March. She needs it next week. The government says that she can now travel five hours to the nearest passport office to get an emergency passport printed. It told her to line up at 4 a.m., but will not guarantee that she will get served that day. It has also said that she must not arrive at the passport office sooner than 48 hours before her flight time in order to qualify for the said emergency printing.
Why does Liberal incompetence mean that Sally is forced to drive five hours one way to stand in line all night with no guarantee that she will have her passport by the time her flight leaves?
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- Jun/21/22 2:45:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are currently triaging people in line because of the unprecedented volume to ensure that people do not miss their flights. We have ensured that, when people get to the passport office, they are receiving their passports. The member opposite can certainly work with my office to support that constituent. I have been pleased to work with many members opposite to support their constituents and make sure that they can get their passports on time. We will continue to support them and Canadians as we go through this surge in volume to support Canadians with their passports.
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- Jun/21/22 2:46:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the passport crisis is quite simply shocking and unacceptable.
Mario Dumont, the well-known TVA host, said that the government is treating Canadians like cattle. Let us think about that. People are exasperated and desperate, but the minister says that everything is fine and has been repeating the same platitudes from day one. She needs to get every employee back in person, and open passport offices evenings and weekends, not just by appointment.
When is the minister going to fix the problem?
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- Jun/21/22 2:46:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I understand Canadians' frustration. We are doing our best to fix this situation.
I have to correct my hon. colleague. All the employees who work on passports at Service Canada are in the office, and have been for months. When he talks about public servants working from home, they are working. They are the same public servants who got the Canada recovery benefit out to Canadians. In all, nine million Canadians received benefits thanks to the hard-working employees of Service Canada.
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- Jun/21/22 2:47:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, wherever we look these days, we see the NDP-Liberal government in chaos. If it is not chaos at our airports, it is chaos at our passport offices. Every week, dozens of constituents call my office looking for help. People have been waiting since January, with little to no response. People are lining up overnight just to get to the office. Some are even being turned away and asked to come back another day after waiting for hours.
What other G7 countries have their citizens sleeping on the ground overnight in order to receive basic government services?
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- Jun/21/22 2:47:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague points out, this is not a situation unique to Canada. In fact, people in the United States, the U.K., France, Australia and Sweden are waiting for 10, 11 and up to 27 weeks. This is precisely something that is happening right around the world. It does not make it acceptable here, and that is exactly why we are throwing everything we have to fix this situation and to ensure that we can do this better, but almost all of our peer countries are going through the exact same thing.
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- Jun/21/22 2:48:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, KPMG literally counselled the wealthiest Canadians to use offshore tax havens. It told Canadians to put their money and their assets into the Isle of Man tax-free haven and that it would help them recover them, tax-free. It sounds pretty shady to me. It also sounded shady to the CRA, so it launched a criminal investigation, which found that there was no wrongdoing, which clearly means that we need to change the laws.
When will the government finally change the laws to make sure that the wealthiest Canadians are not able to use offshore tax havens and avoid paying their fair share and actually contributing fairly like the rest of Canadians do?
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- Jun/21/22 2:49:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I just love my colleague's enthusiasm for tackling tax evasion.
They Canada Revenue Agency is fighting tax evasion in Canada and abroad. We have a solid network of tax agreements. Our investments are bearing fruit. It is getting harder and harder to hide money abroad.
I have a simple message for everyone considering tax evasion: The CRA will find them no matter where they are.
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- Jun/21/22 2:49:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, KPMG did in fact counsel the wealthiest Canadians to use tax loopholes. That is unacceptable.
The government has the power to repeal the laws that allow this.
Will the government at long last amend the legislation to make the ultrarich pay their fair share like everyone else?
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