hazylavender/hi huggingface dataset:
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Sebastien Lemire: Ottawa has reinstated Hockey Canada's funding, but nothing has been solved with regard to sexual misconduct in sport. The minister decided to make a deal without an appropriate inquiry and without even waiting for the findings of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. The testimony heard at the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage again this week would leave no one indifferent, except, perhaps outwardly, the Minister of Sport. For one year, she has done nothing to reassure young athletes or even the victims of abuse. Almost everyone believes that there will not be a change in sport culture without an independent public commission of inquiry. When will the minister finally take action and launch this inquiry?
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Pascale St-Onge: first, I want to salute the courage of all those who testified at the Council on the Status of Women and the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. Out of respect for these individuals who told their stories, which was very difficult, we must all continue to work together in a non-partisan manner. I have already stated that we will conduct audits and an inquiry to ensure that we make good decisions and that our children and athletes across Canada in community sports and on our national teams are protected. In a few weeks, we will be announcing good things for our sport system.
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Sebastien Lemire: unfortunately, the victims of misconduct are not reassured. Many have testified that they do not have confidence in the current process at the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, which routinely dismisses two-thirds of complaints. Unfortunately, Hockey Canada's redemption--whether genuine or not--does not help gymnasts, skiers, water polo players, soccer players, fencers, boxers, and others. The entire sports culture needs to change. The House of Commons has already unanimously called for an independent public inquiry. Again this week, many victims were speaking out. When will the minister do something?
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Pascale St-Onge: we are all on the same side. We agree that the Canadian sport system needs to improve and that self-regulation of sport federations needs to end. We are currently working with both the victims and the organizations involved to put the best processes and mechanisms in place. We will ensure that our organizations do a better job of protecting children and athletes and that there are robust remedies and recourse when abuse or mistreatment occur. We are committed, and we will get the job done.
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Pat Kelly: after eight years under the Prime Minister , Canadians cannot afford a place to live. What do the Liberals have to show for the $90 billion they have committed to housing? Mortgages have doubled. Rents have doubled. It is $2,500 a month for a couple to rent one room in a townhouse. That is not the townhouse, just the room. A government on autopilot cannot fix a housing crisis. When will this jet-setting Prime Minister and his government get back to work?
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Ahmed Hussen: we recognize the challenges faced by Canadians in order to be able to afford a place to call home. We have put together a national housing strategy, which includes the Canada housing benefit. This goes directly into the pockets of vulnerable renters so that they can pay the rent. In addition to that, we have topped it up with a one-time $500 top-up to the Canada housing benefit. The Canada housing benefit continues to exist in every province and territory. Unfortunately, the Conservatives voted against it, but we continue to make sure that each and every Canadian has a safe and affordable place to call home.
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Brad Vis: for those in the middle class and those working hard to join it, it has been eight years of these Liberals, and things have never been more unaffordable. Despite committing $90 billion to housing, people cannot find a place to live. The average rent and mortgage have doubled, and home prices have skyrocketed. It costs $2,500 a month for a couple to rent one room in a townhouse. That is not the townhouse, just the room. When will the government get back to work and let small businesses build the homes that Canadians need?
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Ahmed Hussen: it is really difficult to take the party opposite seriously on housing. That member has been on record saying that the federal government needs to do less on housing and that we should just download everything to the provinces and walk away. That kind of thinking is what led his leader to suggest that people should embrace cryptocurrency in order to opt out of inflation. That kind of thinking is what underpins the Conservatives' logic that if we walk away, magically, everything will work out somehow. That is not the kind of leadership that we need. The Conservatives need to get serious about housing, and they need to support our investments to support vulnerable Canadians.
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Brad Vis: I feel as though I am living in a dystopian fantasyland, as outlined in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four , and hearing doublespeak. For everything the minister says, we should assume the opposite is the truth. The reality, in this country, is that self-employment is dropping off a statistical cliff and, as a result, fewer homes are being built. Therefore, I will ask this again: When will the government get back to work and let small businesses build the homes that middle-class Canadians need?
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Ahmed Hussen: here they go again, saying to let the private sector figure it out, to let the federal government walk away and to not invest anything in housing. Somehow, magically, everything will make sense. It is the same kind of thinking that led his leader to suggest that, magically, people can opt out of inflation by embracing cryptocurrency. That is not a plan. What is a plan is the national housing strategy, which is investing in every spectrum of housing to make sure that Canadians have access to a safe and affordable place to call home. The hon. member talks about housing supply. With respect to the housing accelerator fund, he voted against it.
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Randy Boissonnault: I thank my colleague from Vancouver Granville for his question and for his hard work. Our government is committed to ensuring that the tourism industry continues to grow and prosper. That is why we celebrate National Tourism Week every year. We invested $158 million in budget 2023 to ensure that Canadian and indigenous partners in this sector achieve that goal. I would like to thank all our partners and workers in this sector who are at the heart of the industry and who work every day to make Canada the best destination in the world.
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Mel Arnold: Canadians should look out. The Prime Minister wants to tax their gas off. His plan, which will triple the carbon tax, will make it unaffordable for Canadians to drive to work or heat their homes. It is nothing more than a tax plan. His plan has failed to meet any emissions reduction targets, so now he is going to make them pay more. Meanwhile, he is taking vacations, burning taxpayers' gas. Will the PM stop saving his own gas and cancel his plan to triple the carbon tax?
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Terry Duguid: as much as the Conservatives would like to deny it, climate change is real. What else is real? Those cheques that are arriving in people's mailboxes beginning April 14. In my home province of Manitoba, people will receive $250 a quarter, over $1,000 a month. What is not real? Some of the conspiracy theories that are purported by the other side and cryptocurrency. I would not invest in cryptocurrency. It is a really bad thing to do.
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mrs. Karen Vecchio: Canadians continue to struggle due to the soaring costs of fuel for their cars, homes and groceries. People on fixed incomes cannot absorb the rising costs and they do not have the opportunity to realize additional wages. The government is crippling Canadians financially and to suggest that the carbon tax rebate covers the additional tax is absolutely nonsense. Will the Prime Minister cancel the plan to triple the carbon tax?
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Terry Duguid: there is good news for Canadians. Starting April 14, those cheques began arriving in people's mailboxes. In Alberta, they will receive $1,500 per year, and that is over $350 a quarter. It will be $1,000 in Manitoba. Eight out of 10 families will be better off. Those cheques, as I mentioned, will arrive quarterly. That is going to help with cash flow. That is going to help with affordability. The Conservatives do not seem to be interested in either.
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Richard Lehoux: my question is for the Minister of Agriculture . The Olymel meat-packing plan in Vallee-Jonction, in my riding, which employs 1,000 workers, announced that it will be permanently closing its doors in December 2023. This closure will have a major impact on the pork industry in both Quebec and Ontario. Fully 70% of the pork produced in Canada is exported. However, the minister has not commented on this at all since the announcement was made two weeks ago. What will the minister do to help the workers and especially the farmers who will be directly affected by the closure of the processing plant?
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Francis Drouin: I thank my colleague for his question. As he knows, the minister is in Japan defending the interests of Canadian agriculture. He must be well aware of that, because he is the one who moved the motion to have the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food hear from the various stakeholders in the coming days. The Government of Quebec has committed to working with Olymel. Obviously, Olymel made a business decision and has not yet contacted us about what the solution will be, but, of course, we are prepared to work with the industry to defend the interests of farmers and workers.
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. George Chahal: too many people are the victims of sexual violence. We know how important it is for police services to have access to important tools, like the national sex offender registry, to investigate and prevent sexual violence. We also know going through the criminal justice system process can be hard for victims. Can the Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Justice tell us more about the new bill we introduced to protect Canadians against sexual violence and empower victims?
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Gary Anandasangaree: I want to thank my colleague from Calgary Skyview for his hard work in his community. We just introduced Bill S-12 in the Senate. It would strengthen the national sex offender registry by requiring all offenders to register, unless they can prove that they do not pose a risk to public safety. Bill S-12 would also give victims more of a say in whether a publication ban is ordered and gives survivors a clearer pathway to modify or revoke a ban. Some victims want to protect their identity, others want to tell their stories. It should be their choice. We look forward to the support of all of our colleagues in the House and Senate to ensure that Bill S-12 is passed quickly.
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Alistair MacGregor: the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce and sport fishers in my community are really frustrated. Starting July 15, Fisheries and Oceans Canada will close a prime chinook fishing spot off the coast of southwest Vancouver Island without doing sufficient consultation with locals or first nations. These hard-working people rely on this fishing spot to earn their income and support their families. Why is the minister yet again ignoring coastal communities and their expertise?
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Mike Kelloway: in fact, if we look across the country, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has put a special emphasis on working with coastal communities and looking at a rural development strategy plan. Whether it is focusing on small craft harbours, working on indigenous knowledge, or working with fishers to put in place programs that help fishers, help communities and help generate community wealth, that is what this side is about. However, I take the member's question to heart and will bring it back to the minister and get back to him in due course.
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Mike Morrice: the Canada summer jobs program is not only a financial lifeline for non-profits, charities and small businesses, but it is a critical support for young people looking to get their start in the workforce. This year the program has been cut by over 50%. That is $60 million less than even prepandemic levels. It means that small organizations in my community, from CAFKA to Red Raccoon Bike Rescue, are reeling. Does the federal government understand that these drastic cuts have real impacts on essential community organizations across the country?
Government Priorities
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Jenna Sudds: I know many of us in this House cherish what this program does on the ground in our communities for youth. I would say to my colleague that MP input on this program is vital to its success. Our on-the-ground understanding as MPs of what is needed in our communities is really important to its success and to youth. While the number of positions in some of our youth programs in CSJ have recovered back to prepandemic levels, we will keep providing opportunities to youth for youth employment across the country.
Petitions
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Brad Vis: today, I am pleased to table a petition on behalf of Punjabi Canadians across Canada who are calling on the government to establish direct flights between a Canadian international airport and Amritsar in the Punjab. We have over one million Canadians of Punjabi descent. It makes economic sense. It is good for business. It is good for culture. Let us get it done.
Petitions
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Tom Kmiec: as I have done before, I am tabling a petition on behalf of constituents of mine who are calling on the Government of Canada to again recognize the ongoing genocide of the Hazara Shia minority in Afghanistan by the Taliban regime. They are also calling upon the Government of Canada to ensure that Hazara Shia minority groups are included in the 40,000 Afghan refugees to be resettled in Canada by end of year.
Petitions
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Yasir Naqvi: this is a very important petition that relates to our essential workers and the important work that they do, especially in light of what we saw during COVID-19, when we saw frontline health care workers working so hard, day in and day out, as essential workers, protecting the lives of Canadians from coast to coast to coast. What we have seen, though, afterward are wage freezes that have been put on these essential workers, especially in Ontario, under Premier Ford's government, where their hard work is not being recognized. What this petition is asking for is to take action, in order to prevent wage freezes and cuts on essential workers, to increase funding and to improve the quality of essential services, to prevent the privatization and to take action against the profiteering of our essential services and health care services and, most importantly, also to support provinces in improving the quality of Canada's health care system. I very much agree with this petition and endorse and present this to the House.
Petitions
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Michael Kram: I am very pleased to have the opportunity today to present a petition on behalf of the people of Regina and southern Saskatchewan regarding the RCMP depot in Regina. While the report by the Mass Casualty Commission had many good recommendations, the recommendation to shut down the RCMP depot in Regina is a non-starter for the signers of this petition. The RCMP depot in Regina is a world-class police training facility and any required changes to police training should be done in the existing facility instead of shutting it down. The history of the RCMP in Regina is also a very important part of the local economy and culture. I am pleased to be able to present this petition today here in the House of Commons.
Petitions
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: there has been incredible growth of our Indo-Canadian community across the country. In Manitoba, there has been all sorts of growth that has created a significant demand for more international travel opportunities. The people who have signed this petition are asking for the federal government and different airline carriers to seriously consider establishing a direct flight that would go from Winnipeg International Airport to an airport in India or, at the very least, in Europe. It is something that is in need and that is what it is that my constituents are arguing and asking for.
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Ken Hardie: I was fascinated to hear the hon. member talk about some of the transactions between lawyers, because we know that transactions between lawyers' trust accounts are not captured by FINTRAC. Is he strongly in favour of changing that? The other thing I would ask him to comment on is the beneficial ownership of broadcast outlets in Canada, because there are concerns about Chinese meddling. We have heard, at least anecdotally, that their control over radio and television and cable stations, if it is not ownership, is certainly something else. Is that also worth a closer look in connection with this bill?
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Greg McLean: I will not address the Broadcasting Act, because I am not sure that should be covered here or should be covered in a different bill, but I will address what the member talked about regarding lawyers' trust accounts. Lawyers' trust accounts are not held to the same standard as financial transactions. I remember that, in the financial industry, if $10,000 in cash came into one's account, one had to report that to FINTRAC authorities immediately. If one was at a brokerage, $1,000 of cash was actually the hurdle. Money laundering actually happens at places like currency exchanges, where people walk in with a thousand bucks and will exchange $999 and effectively do it that way. We do need to include the trust from lawyers in here. We will watch them fight it again in the Supreme Court, but making sure we bring them under the umbrella of what is acceptable for money-laundering mechanisms in Canada is very important.
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie: I thank my colleague for his very interesting speech. I think we share rather similar points of view on this bill. His colleague from Sarnia--Lambton , who spoke before he did, brought up the Panama Papers scandal in her speech to illustrate the fact that the government is not doing enough. I would like to remind the House of some of the figures from that scandal. While the government brags about how much it is doing, the Canada Revenue Agency has recovered less money than Revenu Quebec has. By way of comparison, the United Kingdom recovered more than $317 million; Germany, $246 million; Spain, $209 million; France, $179 million; Australia, $173 million and Canada, $21 million. That is 10 times less than the others. Does my colleague agree that the government needs to be doing a lot more?
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Greg McLean: I thank my colleague for his good question. He is right. The CRA's weakness internationally is appalling. Every other country in the world says that it has recovered more "dirty money", as it is called, from the money laundering that is done in countries like Panama. I am sure that the Canada Revenue Agency should be producing better results.
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Chandra Arya: I agree with the hon. member on the need to combat money laundering and tax evasion. On the disclosure norms, I think he mentioned the threshold of 10%. He seems to agree with that. My concern is this. Why should we have any threshold of any percentage before the names of the shareholders are made public? It is very easy to work around this owner threshold.
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Greg McLean: we should have a beneficial owner threshold that actually says who controls these companies. A lot of them will be in separate nominated accounts that might have the same person behind them, but eventually we need to see our way to who those people are. As my colleague is, I think, alluding to, if there are 11 people owning 9% of a corporation, none of those has a full 10%. In that case, the beneficial ownership should be quite clear that it is the same entities that control that corporation. He is right; we should capture making sure we are talking about beneficial ownership of at least 10% or more. There comes a point in time when one is just a passive investor, but at 10%, one is actually a participant, in my opinion.
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Brad Vis: the member for Nepean raised two areas of amendment: on disclosure of information, such as citizenship, and on the significant interest threshold, which members on our side have raised during the debate today as well. I would like the member's opinion about whether the Liberal Party is open to further amendments on the penalties for corporations and individuals. In some cases, penalties in the legislation go up to $200,000, but are as low as $5,000 in other cases for corporations. Would the member opposite be open to further amendments to ensure that people who seek to launder money in Canada and have a registered corporation at the federal level would be accountable to higher penalties?
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Chandra Arya: first on the question of disclosure of information, my understanding is that the bill does disclose citizenship and other details to various law enforcement agencies. However, my view is that citizenship information must be available to the public, too. On the question of imposing penalties, personally I am in favour of changing the penalties if they are too lenient. We have to make it worthwhile. Penalties for the people who break the law should be sufficiently high to cause at least some pain.
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Randy Boissonnault: an agreement could not be reached under the provisions of Standing Orders 78(1) or 78(2) with respect to the second reading stage of Bill C-47, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 28. Under the provisions of Standing Order 78(3), I give notice that a minister of the Crown will propose at the next sitting a motion to allot a specific number of days or hours for the consideration and disposal of proceedings at the said stage.