hazylavender/hi huggingface dataset:
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie: I want to start by commenting on the time allocation that was just imposed on us. I just want to remind my colleagues in the House that the Standing Committee on Finance is already doing a pre-study of Bill C-47 . It is progressing very well. Work is moving forward. We are sitting until midnight. This allows my colleagues who want to speak to Bill C-47 to do so. There was no need for the government to impose time allocation. This infringes on the rights of members of Parliament in the House. It is shameful. What does my hon. colleague think of this?
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Jenny Kwan: on the issue of money laundering, the impact on housing has been significant. In fact, in British Columbia, it has been indicated that it has contributed to inflating the cost of housing as much as 5%. With this piece of legislation, could the member advise whether or not it would be effective in addressing the issue particularly on the land registry perspective?
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: the federal government has been demonstrating very strong leadership by bringing forward the legislation. We get a sense of the support for the legislation and hope to see it pass. There is an obligation, if I can put it that way, for other jurisdictions in Canada, the provinces, in particular, to step up at the same time. Ottawa is more than happy to assist in working with them where it is needed, but it is important that other jurisdictions also take action of sorts. I wonder if the member could provide his thoughts on the importance of that.
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Chandra Arya: my hon. colleague brought up a very important consideration. The nature of the Canadian system is that corporations can be set up under provincial jurisdiction. They do have certain limits on various things, like the threshold for disclosure of ownership. Through this bill, we have provided for the reporting mechanism to be streamlined, working with the provinces. On the other aspects of the bill, I hope that the provinces will step up and work with the federal government to have a uniform system in place in Canada.
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie: I thank my hon. colleague for his very interesting speech. We obviously agree on Bill C-42 . With regard to the fight against tax havens, my colleague talked about the Panama papers scandal. Does he agree with me that, despite all the money that has been invested and all the laws that are in place to give us the power to intervene, Canada is still lagging behind other countries on this? The Canada Revenue Agency recovered less money than Revenu Quebec. Let us compare the numbers. The United Kingdom recovered $317 million, Germany recovered $246 million, Spain recovered $209 million, France recovered $179 million, Australia recovered $173 million, and Canada recovered $21 million. Is that acceptable?
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Brad Vis: one of the concerns I have with the bill is the ability of law enforcement agencies in Canada to use the information in a correct way to go after money launderers and those who would be committing crimes under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. I was pleased to see that the member for Richmond Hill referenced the Cullen commission in British Columbia. I wonder if the Liberals would be open to exploring at committee stage further clarifications as to the power of law enforcement to use this tool to get to the root of the criminals who are undertaking money laundering in Canada, denigrating our institutions, and as a result, Canadians losing faith in the ability of our law enforcement to combat these kinds of crimes.
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Majid Jowhari: we are looking forward to getting this bill to committee where we can explore all the opportunities available to us to further strengthen it. Any measures, tools, regulations or legislation that help our law enforcement officers to identify the criminals and people who are money laundering, using the values of the Canadian people in a very negative way, need to be addressed. They need to be empowered.
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Jenny Kwan: the issue around how money laundering is impacting real estate is very significant. In fact, a special panel did a review on this in British Columbia, and one of its top recommendations was to have a beneficial ownership of land registries across the country. B.C. did that, and I believe we need to do that, given the housing crisis we are faced with. The conservative estimate on the impacts of money laundering on real estate in British Columbia is at least a 5% hit with respect to the cost to housing. I have previously asked this question. It appears the government members do not think this is incorporated into the bill. My question for the member is this: Does he feel this should be incorporated into the bill to ensure that we also tackle money laundering through real estate?
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Majid Jowhari: indeed, we need to make sure that we tackle money laundering through real estate. I believe that, if the real estate is purchased through corporations, the current bill would be able to assist, but I strongly suggest that we introduce a land registry with a clear indication of who the beneficiaries are, because that in itself is a tool to flip real estate and further assist in the laundering of money.
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Brad Vis: overall, as the member for Winnipeg North summarized, we have been having a pretty comprehensive debate on Bill C-42 . There have been suggested amendments from each party, with broad unanimity that we need to take further action to combat money laundering in Canada and its impact on the housing market. I was particularly pleased that a number of members on all sides raised the Cullen commission and the impact crimes are having, especially on British Columbia. The future public beneficial registry will be a tool to combat the use of illicit funds in our economy. Is the Liberal Party open to providing further clarification as to the extent of the power of law enforcement to use it? What other tools can we give our law enforcement agencies to make sure that money laundering is finally combatted in the way Canadians expect us to do?
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: I recognize that the member of Parliament represents an area in British Columbia. Nowhere in Canada have we seen the issue of money laundering raised and brought to our attention more than in British Columbia. It has been raised through the media, showing the complexities of the problems resulting from money laundering. There are very strong criminal and tax avoidance elements to it. It is an issue that is very upsetting for Canadians, because it is about tax fairness. Canadians expect that the government is going to do what it can in order to resolve the issues. I say that pre-emptively to indicate to the member that it is really important for Ottawa to continue to work with the Province of British Columbia and look at joint ways in which we can deal with that very serious issue.
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Christine Normandin: I thank my colleague from Winnipeg North for his speech. My colleague from Joliette mentioned, in a question posed a little earlier, that Revenu Quebec had done a much better job than the CRA on tax evasion by recouping significant amounts, which was one of the arguments used by the Bloc Quebecois to justify giving Quebec full taxation powers by implementing a single tax return. I would like my colleague to comment on the idea that this bill will make it even easier for Quebec to recoup even more money hidden in tax havens by tax evaders, providing further justification for giving Quebec full authority over its tax returns.
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: I do not think it is in Canada's best interest to have each province create its own collection agencies. We would have 10 or 12 different ones: Revenue Quebec, Revenue Manitoba, Revenue Alberta and so forth. I would be concerned. Once it was provided the additional financial resources during the pandemic, the CRA demonstrated how successful it can be. There have been well over a thousand investigations. CRA is well equipped to ensure that Canadians from coast to coast to coast are well represented. I am also concerned about those valuable CRA jobs in the province of Quebec. At the end of the day, people in Quebec and the rest of Canada are well served by the CRA. Once it is provided with the proper resources, it will be able to deal with a lot of the things we expect it to do. That is one of the reasons we funded it with just under $1 billion to do so.
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Alistair MacGregor: if the member for Winnipeg North wants to see the bill proceed faster, maybe the government should not schedule it for Friday sittings. That is just my opinion. There is an offence and punishment section in Bill C-42 . It lists that corporations found guilty of an offence can be liable for a fine not exceeding $5,000. The punishment for individuals can be as high as $200,000. Of course, the whole purpose of this bill is to uncover individuals who may be using corporate entities to hide themselves. That being said, does the hon. member think $5,000 is a sufficient deterrent to prevent corporations from doing this, or would he see value in maybe increasing it to make it commensurate with the offence of the transgression?
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: a number of things in the legislation would hopefully enable companies to abide by it and recognize that, at the end of the day, we will be able to deal with the issue in a much stronger way. For example, in my comments, I made reference to the certificate of compliance. Often, in order to acquire financial support, a corporation or an individual needs to have a certificate of compliance. If it is not issued, this can have a profound impact on the corporation or the individual. Whether in fines or the certificate of compliance, a number of tools would enhance the opportunity for us to ultimately see more compliance within the legislation. As I said, a big part of it, I believe, is going to depend on our justice system and the CRA and making sure that they are properly equipped. That is why I indicated earlier that it is great to see that not only are we bringing forward legislation, but, as we have demonstrated in the past, we are also providing substantial financial support for the CRA.
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Brad Vis: another question on where the government stands on possible amendments relates to the impact of significant interests. Under the legislation, only individuals with over a 25% interest in a corporation would be covered under the beneficial ownership registry before us today. Is the government open to making amendments to the law that would lower the threshold of significant interest? Second, it has come up in debate today that there are questions about whether trusts will be covered under this beneficial ownership registry. Is the government open to examining the impact of trusts as they relate to money laundering as well?
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: the government has indicated that it wants to get the bill to committee and has always been open to ideas that would ultimately make the legislation stronger for the betterment of Canadians. I would suggest to the member that if he has some very specific amendments he would like to put forward, he does not necessarily have to wait until the bill gets to committee. Some ideas might flow out of committee presentations from witnesses, or the member might have his own personal ideas. I think of lawyer trusts, for example, which were mentioned earlier today, and how those trusts could possibly be incorporated, or something of that nature. There are opportunities here, and I look forward to the legislation going to committee. I know the member has expressed a great deal of interest in this issue, and I wish him well in terms of working, maybe not in a politically partisan way, towards how we could give strength to the legislation. We should keep in mind that there have been consultations not only here in Canada but also with other nations, from what I understand, to ensure that we have good, solid legislation going to committee.
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Daniel Blaikie: I have heard the member for Winnipeg North make reference several times today to the resources that have been dedicated to the CRA in order to fight tax evasion and other things of that kind. However, what we have seen from the CRA is a very persistent focus on Canadians in difficult financial situations, who availed themselves of CERB when the government encouraged them to do that at the height of the pandemic but do not have the money to pay the government back. This means that the time and resources spent on pursuing that debt will not yield a return. Meanwhile, as we heard in debate earlier today with respect to the Panama papers and other revelations about global tax fraud, we see Canada really not comparing at all to our allies in recovering that tax debt. When we talk about the Canada emergency wage subsidy, we know that there were companies that took money that they were supposed to pay directly to workers and, in some cases, they locked out their workers after getting the wage subsidy. The government has not tried to get any of that money back. How does giving more resources to the CRA help with the problem if it just means the CRA is going to pursue the poor and let the big fish off the hook?
Canada Business Corporations Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: the government has not let the big fish off the hook. There are hundreds of millions of dollars, getting close to a billion dollars, and it may be just over a billion dollars, but do not quote me on that, over the last number of years that we have invested in the CRA to look at going after the big fish. We have seen a dramatic increase of files now that the CRA is pushing as a direct result of those investments. With regard to issues that the member talked about in terms of CERB, I am not too sure exactly what the NDP's opinion is. Based on some of the comments I heard, and please correct me if I am wrong, the NDP seems to be of the opinion that circumstances do not matter, that the CRA should not be going after people in whatever form CERB was collected. I think that there--
National Strategy for Eye Care Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie: I thank the hon. member and committee chair for her speech. I am concerned about our youth's eye health. Research shows because of the ever-increasing use of screens, phones and tablets, and also because youth are spending more and more time indoors, there will be an epidemic of retinal detachments in the future. This is a serious eye condition. Could my colleague comment on this concern?
National Strategy for Eye Care Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Judy A. Sgro: what I have found is that when I started to do the research on Bill C-284 , I knew very little about it. I have been fortunate to have pretty good eyesight all of these years, other than what my own family experienced through blindness. What I have learned is that the number of things that happen with one's eyes is quite remarkable. When one suddenly starts to notice something about one's eyesight not being the way it was the day before, one needs to get immediately to a doctor, an ophthalmologist or an emergency ward to have that looked at. Very often, people go completely blind within hours when different things happen, such as the pressure behind their eye and all of those things that the ophthalmologist and optometrists and so on will tell us about.
National Strategy for Eye Care Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Jenny Kwan: in terms of eye care, the member is absolutely correct to say that it is critical. However, the cost of eye care is increasing and, oftentimes, what we are seeing is that it is getting delisted in terms of coverage under the health care plan. That certainly is the case here in Ontario. From that perspective, what does the member have to offer in ensuring that coverage is provided so that people can in fact access the necessary health care and eye care that they need?
National Strategy for Eye Care Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Judy A. Sgro: I enjoy, very much, working with my hon. colleague and I know how hard she fights for her community and, in fact, for all Canadians in a variety of different capacities. I think that one of the things that would come out of Bill C-284 is the fact that the provinces and the federal government have to sit down at the table together and look at the huge cost to society as a result of not having sufficient health care when it comes to eye vision and vision loss. The fact is that they would have to sit at the table together, look at the numbers, look at the impact that it is having on society, and come up with solutions. I think that is the only way that we are going to get this to move forward, because we have that interaction between the provinces and the Government of Canada. There needs to be more co-operation and that is what a vision desk would do. It would provide that opportunity to do the analysis required and recognize the need for the investments.
National Strategy for Eye Care Act
Date: 2023_04_28
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
The Assistant Deputy Speaker: Unfortunately, the member's time is up for now. The time provided for the consideration of Private Members' Business has now expired and the order is dropped to the bottom of the order of precedence on the Order Paper. It being 2:30 p.m., this House stands adjourned until next Monday at 11 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1). Have a good weekend, everyone. (The House adjourned at 2:30 p.m.)
Committees of the House
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Ali Ehsassi: I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 14th report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, entitled "The Wake-Up Call: The World After February 24th 2022". Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.
Committees of the House
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Marty Morantz: I have two petitions today. The first one calls upon the House to adopt human rights and environmental due diligence legislation that would require companies to prevent adverse human rights impacts and environmental damage throughout their global operations and supply chains. There are a number of other points in this petition that, once it is tabled, people can read.
Committees of the House
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Marty Morantz: the second petition calls on the Government of Canada to take the following action: immediately call for an end to violence and for restraint from all sides and parties involved in the Tigray conflict; and immediately call for humanitarian access to the region and for independent monitoring to be allowed. There are a number of other points along the same lines.
Committees of the House
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Alexandre Boulerice: this morning, I am tabling three petitions in the House. The first one has to do with the rather horrendous story of a young man named Ahmad Manasra, who was arrested by Israeli forces in October 2015 when he was just 13 years old. After being found guilty of attempted murder in proceedings marred by allegations of torture, the young Ahmad Manasra was sent to prison, where he has remained ever since. What is more, he has been being held in solitary confinement since 2021. UN human rights experts and Amnesty International are calling for him to be freed. The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to request that Israel immediately free Ahmad Manasra.
Committees of the House
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Alexandre Boulerice: my second petition serves as a reminder that the opioid crisis is a national crisis and a public health emergency. There have been 21,174 deaths over the past five years. The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to declare the overdose crisis a national public health emergency and to decriminalize drug possession for personal use.
Committees of the House
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Alexandre Boulerice: the third and last petition, signed by hundreds of people, points out that some Canadian companies contribute to human rights abuses, the destruction of ecosystems and environmental damage around the world. The petitioners are calling for legislation on due diligence for human and environmental rights that would make it possible to prosecute, under Canadian law, Canadian companies that fail to respect human rights abroad.
Committees of the House
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. John McKay: members will recall the mass abductions in Nigeria a few years ago, largely the result of Boko Haram, the Islamic State and Fulani militants. The petitioners are particularly concerned about several people: Leah Sharibu; Alice Ngaddah; the Chibok girls, who are largely girls between the ages of 12 and 16; and the victims' families. The petitioners are calling upon the Subcommittee on International Human Rights to make contact with the Nigerian government to express their concern and to urge the Nigerian government to intervene in these abductions.
Committees of the House
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: it is with pleasure that I table yet another petition dealing with the issue of international travel. The Indo-Canadian community has been growing at a great rate here in Canada, and with that growth there has been an increased demand for international flights. The petitioners are hoping to see an international flight that ultimately goes from Winnipeg to India, and if not, to Europe. The demand continues to increase, and they are calling upon the government to work with private industry and different airlines and for all of us to do what we can to ensure we get an increased number of direct flights coming out of Canadian cities, in particular the city of Winnipeg.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1

Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Warren Steinley: more Canadians than ever are using the food bank, 1.5 million Canadians a month. The member seems to think Canadians have never had it so good, even though the cost of groceries has never been higher, rent has doubled and mortgages have doubled. I have a simple question for the member: Under her government's watch, how many more people are using the food bank in Brampton than before?