2017-12-07

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety contradicted the Prime Minister when he said that rehabilitating ISIS terrorists was not very likely.Even though they do not believe that these terrorists can be rehabilitated, the Liberals are spending money on poetry and podcasts. What a joke.Will the Liberals instead spend that money on resources that will protect Canadians from terrorists?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety has admitted publicly that his government cannot rehabilitate hardened ISIS terrorists, yet it is still spending millions of dollars trying to rehabilitate them using poetry and podcasts.Why is it not using this money to protect Canadians against ISIS terrorists when it knows its strategy has no hope of working?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to come back to the Auditor General's scathing report on the Canada Revenue Agency.According to that report, half of all calls Canadians make to the Canada Revenue Agency are not being answered, and when callers do get through, they get the wrong answer 30% of the time. The Canada Revenue Agency is proving just how incompetent it is, and the minister needs to face up to her responsibilities.When will the minister take this situation seriously and insist that the Canada Revenue Agency serve taxpayers properly?

Mr. Speaker, yet another iconic Canadian species, sockeye salmon, is now threatened. While we appreciate the government's response to the NDP's call for a deadline to list a species at risk, it continues to fail in its duty to protect critical habitat. Many of these species are relied on by indigenous communities and other communities for their survival. Will even more court actions be needed to trigger government action on its duty to protect threatened species?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance's lack of ethics is becoming quite an embarrassment to the government. The person responsible for the country's budget has woven quite a tangled web for himself. He is refusing to explain why he sold his shares just days before introducing a new tax policy. He is now the subject of a comprehensive investigation by the Ethics Commissioner because he introduced a bill that could benefit his family company.Considering all of these developments, will the Minister of Finance do the right thing and resign?

Mr. Speaker, Jennifer McCrea is a young mom who was denied benefits while on maternity leave. Recently, she reached out to her local MP, the Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, in order to seek his help. In the two-minute meeting that the minister was willing to offer her, Ms. McCrea asked him why Ottawa was continuing to fight sick women, and he replied, “Well, Ms. McCrea, that is the old question, like asking ... 'When did you stop beating your wife?'” Could the minister explain to Canadians what was meant by this statement?

Mr. Speaker, there is straightforward and then there is altogether inappropriate.We are starting to see a very disturbing pattern emerge here, and that is this. On Tuesday, it was thalidomide survivors and now it is new mothers. The minister released a public statement blaming this young mom for his inappropriate actions. For a feminist government that claims men must take responsibility for their actions against women, how does the minister justify blaming this young mom for his condescending words? Is this not victim blaming at its finest?

Mr. Speaker, I have a story for you. Once upon a time, there was a Minister of National Revenue who had a fabulous $25-billion treasure. Sadly, the minister had an overactive imagination. The treasure was all in her head, just like her conviction that her ministry of magic has not changed the rules for people with diabetes. This might be funny if it were just a fairy tale, but the truth is that people are suffering.Can the minister leave her imaginary world behind and come back to Earth with the rest of us?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance misled Canadians that his assets were in a blind trust when they were not. He hid from the Ethics Commissioner an offshore company. He is under investigation as we speak. To top it off, he refuses to disclose assets in multiple numbered companies.With a record like that, there is only one thing left for the minister to do, and that is resign. Why will he not?

Mr. Speaker, the United States' decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is reckless and will not only jeopardize the rights of Palestinians, but also scuttle any hope for peace in the region. This decision shows total disregard for international law and has already sparked clashes in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.France, Germany, and Italy are among the many countries to have expressed disapproval. Canada seems to have very little to say on the subject.Will the government join the international community in condemning this totally irresponsible decision?

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister's ethical challenges are very concerning. He is currently under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner for introducing legislation that could benefit his family corporation. He has already been fined for failing to disclose his offshore corporation. The minister refuses to come clean about the contents of his other numbered companies. How many ethics investigations will it take before the minister just does the right thing and resigns?

Mr. Speaker, his comments were inappropriate, but he is the one who thought them.This government claims to help our most vulnerable citizens, but in fact, quite the opposite is true. First, the Minister of National Revenue is caught taking money away from people with diabetes by denying them their tax credit. Then, the Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities behaves in a totally condescending way towards mothers who come to him for help by speaking words that I dare not repeat.It is not surprising that the Minister of National Revenue would go after the most vulnerable when the other minister, the one who is supposed to defend them, makes fun of them when they reach out for help.Who in this cabinet is going to clean up this mess and give vulnerable people their dignity and their money back?

Mr. Speaker, vulnerable Canadians deserve better. We have ministers going out of their way to attack those who truly need help. The revenue minister is targeting single moms and denying legitimate benefits. The Minister for Persons with Disabilities is refusing to help, and worse yet, belittling those who dare ask. Does the minister understand that Canadians who reach out to him for help do not expect to be attacked for simply asking for it?

Mr. Speaker, this morning, the United States International Trade Commission unanimously voted against the Canadian lumber industry, because of the Liberal government's inaction and failure to get a deal done despite repeatedly assuring this House and Canadians that it was getting the job done. Canadian industry is being held ransom and is facing a lengthy and costly legal battle. Job losses and layoffs are going to be seen.What does this minister have to say to those hard-working forestry families who are now facing even a more uncertain future two weeks from the Christmas break?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance's record is atrocious.The minister initially told Canadians that there would be a small deficit of $10 billion, and now it is $20 billion. Even worse, he is racking up untold debt for future generations. There was supposed to be a balanced budget by the end of the government's term, but that will not happen. He is putting future generations in debt, to the tune of more than $100 million. They are going to have to pay off this debt. That is irresponsible for our children and grandchildren.When will the Minister of Finance resign?

Mr. Speaker, if the finance minister will not resign, hopefully he will stand and answer the question I am about to ask him personally. Last summer, he launched a direct attack on small businesses. He ruined the ability of farmers to be in their fields, for tourism operators to serve their customers, and for others to enjoy a small break during that time. Now he is doing the same thing right before Christmas. He said he would have legislative proposals on his small business tax increase in the fall. If that is true, when will we see the bill?

Mr. Speaker, the reaction to Trump's decision yesterday was swift around the world, from the UN to the EU, to France and Sweden, to name just a few. The condemnations continue to mount.However, Canada issued a spineless response that did not even refer to Trump's decision, a decision that will further undermine peace efforts. Is this really the kind of leadership that Canada wants to show on the world stage?

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Don Valley West for his question.Our government values family reunification. We also value the important services that caregivers provide to Canadians. However, for far too long these people have been waiting to reunite with their own families. Under the mismanagement of the immigration system by the Conservatives, caregivers have been facing wait times of between four and five years.Our government will eliminate the caregiver backlog by the end of 2018, and we will establish a new processing time of only 12 months for new applications. We believe in doing the right thing. Unlike the rhetoric from the other side, we have taken action. We have put resources in place, and have put the right people in place to eliminate this backlog. At the end of the day, this is about people.

Mr. Speaker, for weeks now, the revenue minister has repeated over and over again that the CRA under the Liberal government has recovered $25 billion in tax evasion, except no one knows where it comes from and the minister is not able to explain that to anyone. Her own department does not know where this information comes from. There is a difference between money identified and money recovered. How can Canadians believe the minister when her own administration does not know what she is talking about?

Mr. Speaker, the Netflix agreement is already dead and buried in the eyes of Quebeckers. It is over. Everyone, business people from the cultural sector, the National Assembly, everyday Quebeckers, everyone rejects this unfair tax break that Ottawa is giving the web giant.A poll released this morning shows that 72% of Quebeckers find the Netflix agreement unfair and 89% find that this agreement can no longer remain secret.The Minister of Canadian Heritage is delivering a major speech tomorrow in Montreal. All eyes will be on her. Everyone is expecting her to get things back on track.Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Minister of Finance stop passing the buck, admit that they made a mistake, and reconsider these unfair handouts?

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to fighting tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. Over the past two years, the government has invested nearly $1 billion to cracking down on tax evasion and tax avoidance. The Canada Revenue Agency levied more than $44 million in third-party penalties last year, and there are presently a number of criminal cases under way. The CRA has a full-time dedicated unit focused on offshore non-compliance, and this unit reviews money transfers over $10,000 that cross borders to and from Canada. In the past two years alone, the CRA has received information on more than $28 million in money transfers—

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister says that he has done nothing wrong, but he continues to deflect and dodge questions. The Ethics Commissioner is looking into the sale of shares in his family's company just days before tax changes, he imposed, devalued those shares. He has been fined for hiding his offshore company. He has hid the fact that he was sheltering and controlling millions of shares in a numbered Alberta company.If he has done nothing wrong, why is the minister refusing to answer simple questions about his behaviour?

Mr. Speaker, Canada is very proud of its leadership on the world stage. Canada is a steadfast ally and friend of Israel, and a friend of the Palestinian people.Canada's long-standing position is that the status of Jerusalem can be resolved only as part of a general settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli dispute. This has been the policy of consecutive governments, be they Conservative or Liberal. We are strongly committed to the goal of a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East, including the creation of a Palestinian state, living side by side, in peace and security, with Israel.

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows very well, I will not comment on a specific case, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. The law prohibits me from doing so. However, I can assure my colleague that no one is interfering with agency audits. As long as I am the Minister of National Revenue, that will never happen. Let me be clear: no one is above the law.

Mr. Speaker, with regard to income sprinkling, the Minister of Fisheries has been clear that the details will come forward shortly before the January 1 implementation date. Our goal has always been to bring more fairness to our tax system. We do not think it is fair that a wealthy Canadian can institute a private corporation to save the equivalent of the average Canadian's income per year. We think that we have to have a fiscal system that is fair for all Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, our negotiating position is clear and always has been. We will defend the elements of NAFTA that Canadians know are essential to our national interests . We are negotiating in good faith, and we expect our partners to do the same. A winner-take-all attitude is not conducive to the actual results that we all seek in terms of a win-win-win. We cannot and will not accept proposals that put Canadian jobs at risk and do harm to our economy. We will always defend Canada's national interests and stand up for our values.

Mr. Speaker, all I can do is reaffirm and reinforce that these assertions are entirely false, as confirmed by the Conflict of Interest Commissioner. Not only that, but the Liberal Party has indeed moved forward with the strongest standards in federal politics for openness and transparency, including facilitating media coverage, advance postings, posting in publicly accessible spaces, and timely reporting of event details and guest lists. It is open and it is transparent.

Mr. Speaker, the minister keeps saying she would like to reassure all Canadians who receive the disability tax credit that the eligibility criteria have not changed. However, a memo from her office says, “This is to inform you of updates to the current LST procedures and verses relating to adults with diabetes.” This means the eligibility criteria have, indeed, changed. Why does she continue to insult Canadians by insisting updated procedures means they have not changed?

Mr. Speaker, because this is my first opportunity to address the member directly, I want to say that we know full well on this side of the House how much of a fighter he is, and we want to wish him well. However, I am still going to make him answer tough questions.The Minister of Finance announced these changes this summer, and he really thought that Canadians would not notice. Unfortunately, what the Liberals encountered were vast protests and huge opposition. However, they are still pressing ahead with this tax increase on January 1, as the minister said.Today it was reported that the Liberals have spent more than $2.2 million on talent fees. This kind of overspending is exactly why they have to raise taxes on small businesses. Is the Minister of Finance really raising small business taxes so that he can pay the $2 million bill for actors they hired to promote their government?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals appear to be giving up on NAFTA. In China, the Prime Minister suggested that he will work on a Canada-U.S. deal if NAFTA is cancelled. Back home, Canada's chief negotiator suggests that Canada and Mexico will move ahead alone if the U.S. withdraws. The Liberal government appears to be making this up as it goes along.Will the foreign affairs minister rise in this House today and tell us why the Prime Minister is contradicting her chief negotiator?

Mr. Speaker, obviously the people opposite cannot explain the $1.2 billion that they cut from the security services of Canada. On the other hand, our government uses a variety of tools to combat terrorism, including the Global Coalition against Daesh, security investigations, surveillance, monitoring, intelligence gathering, lawful sharing, collection of evidence, criminal charges, criminal prosecutions, peace bonds, public listings, no-fly lists, hoisting of passports, authorized threat reduction measures, and preventive initiatives to head off tragedies in advance, wherever that is possible. It is a balanced approach that works relying on our security—

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. I hope that my colleagues will find it a bit odd to see a member of the Conservative Party talking about the importance of transparency. That is rather new to us. However, I must say that while my colleague thinks that people were at the pool, we were listening to Canadians, the small and medium-sized business owners who, as my colleague knows, participated broadly in the consultations led by our government. That is why we brought in the changes we will implement on January 1. All the details will be known before that date, obviously.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has become quite skilled at avoiding Canadians' questions.Yesterday, the House Leader of the Official Opposition asked the minister a simple question. She asked whether he was the one who signed the memorandum to cabinet for Bill C-27. Can my colleagues guess what happened? We are still waiting for an answer.If the Minister of Finance is unable to answer our simple, softball questions, then I would ask him to issue a press release announcing his immediate resignation.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that to mean there will not actually be a bill before the measures take effect. Our small family businesses will be forced to follow laws that do not even exist. How does the government expect anyone to run a business with rules that are written nowhere than in a press release, released the night before Christmas?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has become an expert at avoiding giving answers to Canadians. He hid his shares in a numbered company. He hid the date of the sale of some of those shares. Today, new documents show that the minister is continuing his practice of hiding information from Canadians. When asked simply if he as minister signed the memorandum approving Bill C-27, he refused to answer.If the minister refuses to be transparent about something as simple as this, will he not just resign?

Mr. Speaker, steelhead are in trouble. Specifically, Thompson and Chilcotin runs are in dire straits. Fisheries and conservation groups in British Columbia have called on the government to issue an emergency listing order under SARA and to investigate impacts of bycatch on steelhead runs. Those calls have largely gone unanswered. It is well past time the government listens to experts. Will the minister work with the British Columbia government to protect steelhead before it is too late?

Mr. Speaker, it is becoming quite obvious that the opposition want to talk about anything else but the economy. When we talk about the economy and this government's record, it makes the Conservatives' record pale in comparison. Over the 10 years they were in government, Canada had the lowest growth since World War II. They had high unemployment as opposed to what we have achieved, the lowest unemployment in the last 10 years.That is why the opposition keeps focusing on playing politics while we work for Canadians. We will continue to work for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, our colleague opposite refuses to talk about Creative Canada, our new cultural policy. That is because the Conservatives know that it lines up perfectly with our election promises, which were much more ambitious than theirs, and because they know that we are investing additional billions in culture, something they never could have done.The NDP lost its credibility when it comes to investing in culture. What is more, last week the NDP lost its credibility when it comes to defending the French language before the Supreme Court.

Mr. Speaker, an internal report from the CRA dating from 2014 shows that before the election, 25% of Canadians received bad advice when they contacted the CRA. Now the Auditor General tells us it is 30% under the minister's watch, despite spending $50 million to respond to this problem. The CRA has shown time and time again that it is more interested in protecting itself than the taxpayer. This needs to change. As it stands now I have to ask this question, because I really cannot tell. Is the minister controlling the CRA or is the CRA controlling the minister?

Mr. Speaker, I am the captain today. You yourself have served as minister of fisheries and oceans, so you will know all about the Canadian Coast Guard, the captains, and the work they do. Mr. Speaker, I think you will agree that the entrepreneurs my colleague referred to are fully aware that we will be lowering taxes for them. The tax rate for small and medium-sized businesses will be cut from 11%, the 2015 rate, to 9% by 2019. That is a commitment we have made. Details about other measures, including income sprinkling, will of course be announced before their effective date.

Mr. Speaker, last week, Canada reached a historic agreement in principle with our international partners to prevent unregulated commercial fishing in the high seas of the central Arctic Ocean. This is the first time an international agreement of this magnitude has been reached before any commercial fishing takes place on a region of the high seas. We have taken a strong, proactive, precautionary approach to potential fishing activities in the central Arctic Ocean. We will continue to work with our international partners, indigenous groups, and northerners to protect the Arctic Ocean.

Mr. Speaker, we share my colleague's concern with respect to steelhead salmon. I have had the opportunity on a number of occasions to discuss that with the Government of British Columbia. We are working on a comprehensive approach that includes a reliance on science, traditional knowledge, and working with partners on habitat protection and coastal restoration. We have invested a record of amount of money in this. However, we do not think the job is done yet, and we will continue to do what we need to do to protect those iconic species.

Mr. Speaker, Canada is a steadfast ally and friend of Israel, and a friend of the Palestinian people.Canada's long-standing position is that the status of Jerusalem can be resolved only as part of a general settlement of the dispute between the two parties. This has been the policy of consecutive governments, be they Conservative or Liberal. We are committed to the goal of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, including the creation of a Palestinian state, living side by side, in peace and security, with Israel.

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal defence policy states that the Royal Canadian Navy must have two naval task groups, each with a joint support ship, thus two support ships. That is on page 34. There is a problem. With the loss of the Preserver and the Protector, there is no vessel that can currently serve as a support ship.The Asterix is on its way, but where is the Obelix? Provisions were made for the Asterix. The contract was awarded to the Davie shipyard.Why does the government not award the Obelix contract before the holidays? Our national security depends on it. The workers—

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to protecting all species at risk, including Pacific salmon. We have worked with Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Province of British Columbia to implement something that I know is very important to my colleagues from British Columbia, 64 of the 75 recommendations of the Cohen Commission. We will continue to work diligently in that regard. We will continue to make the investments in habitat protection, science, and enforcement. We will restore lost protections in the Fisheries Act, as we committed to Canadians. We will get the job done and we will ensure those iconic species are protected.

Mr. Speaker, I am extremely surprised to hear the minister lecturing us about transparency while tabling a bill on transparency accompanied by a gag order. That is quite peculiar.Let us come back to the file now before us. Business owners across Canada are concerned because a lot will change when the tax reforms take effect on January 1, which is just days from now. Next week, we will all be leaving Parliament Hill and going back to our ridings, but business owners still have no information about what is going to happen next year, in 2018.Is there a captain on this Liberal ship?

Mr. Speaker, first of all, the Minister of Finance has successfully grown our economy at a remarkable rate over the past two years, so no, he will certainly not be resigning.As Minister of Finance, he has done what needed to be done for Canadians, not only by lowering the small business tax rate from 11% to 9% by 2019, but also by stimulating the economy to create 600,000 jobs in two years. That is much more than they ever did, so the answer to the hon. member for Beauce is no.

Mr. Speaker, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is investigating the fact that preferential access to the Prime Minister was given to Chinese billionaires, including the founder of a bank in Vancouver. On the day that bank received its charter, Papineau received $70,000. Now we are expected to be satisfied with an answer like that. Canadians deserve respect. They deserve transparency. They deserve an answer. Did the Prime Minister give the list of Vancouver donors to the Ethics Commissioner, yes or no?

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to improving the lives of all Canadians. I recognize that when speaking to people, I tend to be straightforward. However, I regret my comments as I know they were brash and inappropriate, and I apologize. I remember the conversation with Ms. McCrea. It was a difficult conversation, and that is no excuse. I will take this opportunity to better myself as both an individual and as a parliamentarian.

Mr. Speaker, these assertions are entirely false, as confirmed by the Conflict of Interest Commissioner. Not only that, but the Liberal Party has moved forward with the strongest standards in federal politics for openness and transparency, including facilitating media coverage, advance postings, posting in publicly accessible places, and timely reporting of event details and guest lists. Contrast that to opposition parties, which continue to organize their fundraising events in secret, barring journalists and hiding details about who is attending their closed-door events.

Mr. Speaker, politicians have a duty to be transparent and to have integrity. We now have a Liberal government that is opaque and a Minister of Finance mired in conflicts of interest. This is a minister who organized consultations in the middle of summer, when entrepreneurs were relaxing around the pool. This is a minister who refuses to provide more information about the tax reform that will have a negative and catastrophic impact on our economy. Is there anyone in this government who will finally show a little bit of respect for our job creators?

Mr. Speaker, the tax policy the member mentioned, which was announced on December 7, 2015, is one that we are proud of. We increased taxes for the 1% so we could lower them for nine million middle-class Canadians. That was one of our campaign promises, and that is why we were back in power in December 2015.Members on this side of the House believe that making our tax system fairer by increasing taxes for the 1% and lowering taxes for the middle class was and is a good thing.

Mr. Speaker, that was part of broader agreements for government advertising. However, it is notable that our government has actually reduced government advertising from that of the Conservative government, of which the member for Milton was a member. In fact, that government spent, during its tenure, almost a billion dollars on quasi-partisan government advertising. Not only have we reduced government advertising costs, but we have also changed the rules to make sure no government abuses government advertising to promote political interests.

Mr. Speaker, in the Standing Committee on Finance, the Minister of National Revenue said that all taxpayer files are confidential, that they would remain so, and that no parliamentarian would have access to Canada Revenue Agency files, or would otherwise face jail time, no less. However, the Prime Minister, a parliamentarian, cleared his friend, Mr. Bronfman. He said “we have received assurances that all rules were followed…and we are satisfied with those assurances”. Can the minister tell us whether the Prime Minister had access to confidential information from the Canada Revenue Agency? If so, when will he face the consequences?

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Beauce for his question.It gives me an opportunity to remind members that when we were elected in 2015, our debt-to-GDP ratio was 32.5%. Today, it stands at 30.5%. By the end of our term, it will be lower than it was in the 1970s. That is the best fiscal position of all G7 countries. It is not surprising that Christine Lagarde of the IMF says that the Canadian approach should be emulated and should go viral, because investing when interest rates are low and infrastructure is needed is the right thing to do for Canadians, for the economy, and for our entrepreneurs.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to reassure all Canadians who receive the disability tax credit that the eligibility criteria have not changed. That being said, I am always open to hearing the concerns of all Canadians. If changes to Revenue Canada's procedures are needed, we will have that conversation with the experts who will be part of the committee that I will be making an announcement about tomorrow. We will ensure fairness for all recipients of the disability tax credit regardless of their disability.

No, Mr. Speaker, the finance minister will not resign, because the finance minister has delivered more for the Canadian economy and Canadians than those members ever did in 10 years.We are talking about close to 600,000 jobs created in the last two years, most of them full time. We are talking about the fastest growth in the G7. We are talking about a reduction in child poverty in Canada by 40%. We are talking about one million seniors who have seen their revenue go up with the guaranteed income supplement. That is the finance minister's work. That is this government's work. So no, the finance minister will not resign.

Mr. Speaker, the Arctic is one of our greatest treasures. As the member for Northwest Territories, I know how precious our coastlines, oceans, and fisheries are for the people of the north and for all Canadians.As climate change changes our landscapes and ecosystems, we have a responsibility to protect them now more than ever. Could the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard please update the House on what the government is doing to protect the high seas of the central Arctic Ocean?

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister, as is expected of all ministers and parliamentarians, has worked with the Ethics Commissioner. We have the utmost trust in the Ethics Commissioner to set the path forward for parliamentarians, which she has done with the Minister of Finance. When he arrived in Ottawa he followed all of her recommendations. He announced a few weeks ago that he would go above and beyond to dispose of all his shares in Morneau Shepell, place all of his assets in a blind trust, so he could continue to the work that he has been doing for two years for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, the duties imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Tribunal are unwanted, unfair, and deeply troubling.We recently challenged the countervailing duties under NAFTA's chapter 19, and two days ago we initiated legal action under the World Trade Organization. Our forestry industry has succeeded in every such previous dispute, as has Canada. We will continue to fiercely defend our softwood lumber industry and its incredible work.

Mr. Speaker, our government is fully committed to fighting tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. The revenue agency has a very effective recovery process, which was strengthened by our investments of close to $1 billion. We now have the tools needed to effectively combat tax cheats. We are on track to recoup $25 billion as a result of audits conducted over the past two years. Every company and individual affected was notified of the changes to these audits, and new notices of assessment were sent out as needed.

Mr. Speaker, as I just reiterated, I have read the Auditor General's report and completely agree with all his recommendations. In our first budget, we invested over $50 million in our call centres, which had been neglected for over 20 years. We hired more agents. We have an action plan in place. We want a more modern telephone platform that can meet our clients' needs. We are going to give training to the people who work in our call centres. We are going to create service standards that will meet Canadians'—

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have committed to implementing new taxes that promise to have a significant impact on the operations of small businesses in Canada. These changes are expected to take effect in less than month. The problem is that there are still no details. We know that small businesses are the backbone of the country. They deserve our respect. They deserve a plan. Will the Minister of Finance and the government please indicate when they will be introducing the changes in specificity?

Mr. Speaker, I read the Auditor General's report, and I support all his recommendations. In our very first budget, we invested $50 million in the CRA's call centres. We have already started hiring more agents to respond to more Canadians. We already have an action plan that focuses on modernizing our telephone platform, improving training, and updating our service standards.

Mr. Speaker, I can reassure the member that the details will be known very shortly. I want to also remind the member that we will have lowered the small business tax rate from 11% to 9% by 2019, because we will always support small businesses. We will always stand behind small businesses. I can reassure the member that our intention has always been that the family business model can continue to prosper, and we will make sure that family members who work in a business can continue to do so and be remunerated for it. That is not the issue here.

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the government, which will hopefully be answered a little better than the questions were answered in question period, but we will see how that goes.I would ask the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons what the government has planned for the rest of this week and next week before we go back to our ridings for the Christmas break.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her generous comments a minute ago. I am glad she visited the Tobique—Mactaquac part of my home province of New Brunswick. The constituency is very fortunate to have an outstanding member of Parliament who himself was a small business owner from that community and who has spoken to our government repeatedly about the importance of those small businesses in Tobique—Mactaquac. He was one of the loudest voices encouraging our government to act quickly on the campaign commitment we made to lower the small business taxes for those businesses she met in Tobique—Mactaquac. I am sure she will celebrate that good news with us.

Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleague to repeat the same thing outside the House after question period. I invite him to tell me that I did not respect my diabetic husband, whom I stood by until his final days. I invite him to tell me that I disrespected all my clients when I was a social worker.I am extremely sensitive to the challenges facing people with diabetes. As minister, my role is to make fair and equitable decisions for everyone.

Mr. Speaker, the government obviously allocates significant budgets for the defence, safety, and protection of Canadians, unlike the previous government, which cut $530 million from the RCMP, $390 million from the CBSA, $69 million from CSIS, $42 million from the CSE, and $71 million from CATSA. It is the previous government that underfunded the financing of Canada's security system.

Mr. Speaker, this afternoon, we will continue the report stage debate of Bill C-24, the one-tier ministry bill. Tomorrow, we shall commence second reading debate of Bill C-66, the expungement of historically unjust convictions act.On Monday, we will call report stage and third reading of Bill C-51, the charter cleanup legislation. Tuesday we will return to Bill C-24 at third reading. If Bill C-66 is reported back from committee, we would debate that on Wednesday with agreement. The backup bill for Wednesday will be Bill S-5, concerning vaping, at second reading. On Thursday, the House will debate Bill C-50, political financing. Then on Friday, we will consider Bill S-2, the strengthening motor vehicle safety for Canadians act.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has not answered any of the reasonable and fair questions we have asked regarding his conduct. What we have discovered is that the minister was actively managing shares in Morneau Shepell while he was promoting Bill C-27, which would directly benefit his family business.Why will the minister not answer this simple question? Was he the one who signed the memo to approve Bill C-27?

Mr. Speaker, as a parliamentarian, I know my job is to meet with constituents and stakeholders across the country and work as hard as I can to represent their issues. I try to represent their interests in a real and fair manner. I will work hard to improve both myself as an individual and as a parliamentarian to continue to try and address their concerns. I am taking this very seriously.

Mr. Speaker, I recognize 100% that my comments were inappropriate, and I apologize profusely for them. I will continue to work on trying to improve both my individual self and myself as a parliamentarian. I know I will continue to work as hard as I can for my constituents. I know I will learn from this and move forward and better myself.

Mr. Speaker, our government is acquiring two joint support ships to permanently replace the Protector class auxiliary oiler replenishment vessel, to equip the navy, and to ensure that it can carry out its mission. These two vessels will provide the requisite core replenishment, sealift, and ground operations support capabilities. Our government is committed to building two new vessels for the navy and maintaining Canada's naval capabilities in the long term. These contracts were awarded to the Vancouver shipyard and we are examining with—

Mr. Speaker, not only have the Liberals reduced advertising, but they seem to have reduced the comments period as well on small business tax changes.Yesterday, I was in New Brunswick and talked to local businesses in Mactaquac, Florenceville, and Woodstock. They want this House to know that they usually plan their business strategy a year in advance, and now they are faced with 25 days before the introduction of incredibly difficult and complex tax changes. A lot of them are already struggling this year as it is, and now they have this to worry about over the Christmas holidays. Will the Liberals provide the details today so that small businesses have a chance to plan?

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister has worked with the Ethics Commissioner and answered all of her questions. He will always work with the Ethics Commissioner to make sure all of the rules are followed, so he can continue the important work he has been doing the last two years, which has been to grow the economy at twice the growth the Conservative Party was able to achieve in the 10 years it was in power, creating more jobs than it ever could in their time in office. That is what the finance minister has been doing the last two years.

Mr. Speaker, earlier during question period, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance referred to the government's tax policy. In order to set the record straight for Canadians, for the seventh time, I ask for the consent of the House to table the following document.It is the Department of Finance Canada's Annual Financial Report of the Government of—

Mr. Speaker, Rosalie is a caregiver living, working, and helping in Don Valley West. In 2014, needing surgery, she applied for permanent residency, which would have allowed her to have her family come here to help her. She is still waiting.In 2012, Mary-Ann applied for her PR, asking for my help in 2016. She is still waiting.Too many live-in caregivers are waiting far too long for their families, while they care for ours. Could the Minister of Immigration tell the House what he is doing to reunite caregivers with their families?

Mr. Speaker, we share the member's view on the importance of small and medium-sized businesses to the Canadian economy. That is why we are fulfilling an important commitment we made to Canadians by lowering small business taxes from 11% in 2015 to 9% by 2019. With respect to the specific measures, I assume she is referring to income sprinkling. My colleague the Minister of Finance said they would take effect on January 1, and all of the details will be known, obviously, before that point.

Mr. Speaker, to answer the member's question, I believe that constitutes cabinet confidence. On another note, though, I will say that the finance minister over the last two years has done amazingly well at growing this economy. We are very proud of the work he has done to make sure that Canada is prosperous, and that this prosperity is good for everyone and benefits us all.

Mr. Speaker, in December 2016, the interim Conservative leader, Ms. Ambrose, asked the Ethics Commissioner to investigate the Prime Minister's dinner with Chinese billionaires, including the founder of Wealth One bank in Vancouver. My question is simple: in the documents that the Prime Minister submitted to the Ethics Commissioner, was there a list of the Vancouver donors who donated $70,000 to the riding of Papineau on July 6 and 7, 2016?

Mr. Speaker, our government is making historic infrastructure investments in communities across the country through the 12-year $186-billion infrastructure plan. We are working with our partners to move their priorities forward and challenging them to be innovative in both the projects they put forward and how they think about community improvement planning resulting in community building.Can the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities please update this House on the government's latest challenge to Canadian communities?

Mr. Speaker, I recently launched the smart cities challenge in Calgary, encouraging communities to work together to improve the lives of the residents through innovation, data, and connected technologies. We are encouraging our partners to be bold and innovative, and participate in the smart cities challenge in order to build stronger, more sustainable, and inclusive communities, and create jobs and a more thriving economy.

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister says that he has done nothing wrong, but he continues to deflect and dodge questions. The Ethics Commissioner is looking into the sale of shares in his family's company just days before tax changes, he imposed, devalued those shares. He has been fined for hiding his offshore company. He has hid the fact that he was sheltering and controlling millions of shares in a numbered Alberta company.If he has done nothing wrong, why is the minister refusing to answer simple questions about his behaviour?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to come back to the Auditor General's scathing report on the Canada Revenue Agency.According to that report, half of all calls Canadians make to the Canada Revenue Agency are not being answered, and when callers do get through, they get the wrong answer 30% of the time. The Canada Revenue Agency is proving just how incompetent it is, and the minister needs to face up to her responsibilities.When will the minister take this situation seriously and insist that the Canada Revenue Agency serve taxpayers properly?

Mr. Speaker, the Netflix agreement is already dead and buried in the eyes of Quebeckers. It is over. Everyone, business people from the cultural sector, the National Assembly, everyday Quebeckers, everyone rejects this unfair tax break that Ottawa is giving the web giant.A poll released this morning shows that 72% of Quebeckers find the Netflix agreement unfair and 89% find that this agreement can no longer remain secret.The Minister of Canadian Heritage is delivering a major speech tomorrow in Montreal. All eyes will be on her. Everyone is expecting her to get things back on track.Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Minister of Finance stop passing the buck, admit that they made a mistake, and reconsider these unfair handouts?

Mr. Speaker, I understand that to mean there will not actually be a bill before the measures take effect. Our small family businesses will be forced to follow laws that do not even exist. How does the government expect anyone to run a business with rules that are written nowhere than in a press release, released the night before Christmas?

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister, as is expected of all ministers and parliamentarians, has worked with the Ethics Commissioner. We have the utmost trust in the Ethics Commissioner to set the path forward for parliamentarians, which she has done with the Minister of Finance. When he arrived in Ottawa he followed all of her recommendations. He announced a few weeks ago that he would go above and beyond to dispose of all his shares in Morneau Shepell, place all of his assets in a blind trust, so he could continue to the work that he has been doing for two years for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, not only have the Liberals reduced advertising, but they seem to have reduced the comments period as well on small business tax changes.Yesterday, I was in New Brunswick and talked to local businesses in Mactaquac, Florenceville, and Woodstock. They want this House to know that they usually plan their business strategy a year in advance, and now they are faced with 25 days before the introduction of incredibly difficult and complex tax changes. A lot of them are already struggling this year as it is, and now they have this to worry about over the Christmas holidays. Will the Liberals provide the details today so that small businesses have a chance to plan?

Mr. Speaker, I can reassure the member that the details will be known very shortly. I want to also remind the member that we will have lowered the small business tax rate from 11% to 9% by 2019, because we will always support small businesses. We will always stand behind small businesses. I can reassure the member that our intention has always been that the family business model can continue to prosper, and we will make sure that family members who work in a business can continue to do so and be remunerated for it. That is not the issue here.

Mr. Speaker, obviously the people opposite cannot explain the $1.2 billion that they cut from the security services of Canada. On the other hand, our government uses a variety of tools to combat terrorism, including the Global Coalition against Daesh, security investigations, surveillance, monitoring, intelligence gathering, lawful sharing, collection of evidence, criminal charges, criminal prosecutions, peace bonds, public listings, no-fly lists, hoisting of passports, authorized threat reduction measures, and preventive initiatives to head off tragedies in advance, wherever that is possible. It is a balanced approach that works relying on our security—

Mr. Speaker, vulnerable Canadians deserve better. We have ministers going out of their way to attack those who truly need help. The revenue minister is targeting single moms and denying legitimate benefits. The Minister for Persons with Disabilities is refusing to help, and worse yet, belittling those who dare ask. Does the minister understand that Canadians who reach out to him for help do not expect to be attacked for simply asking for it?

Mr. Speaker, steelhead are in trouble. Specifically, Thompson and Chilcotin runs are in dire straits. Fisheries and conservation groups in British Columbia have called on the government to issue an emergency listing order under SARA and to investigate impacts of bycatch on steelhead runs. Those calls have largely gone unanswered. It is well past time the government listens to experts. Will the minister work with the British Columbia government to protect steelhead before it is too late?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals appear to be giving up on NAFTA. In China, the Prime Minister suggested that he will work on a Canada-U.S. deal if NAFTA is cancelled. Back home, Canada's chief negotiator suggests that Canada and Mexico will move ahead alone if the U.S. withdraws. The Liberal government appears to be making this up as it goes along.Will the foreign affairs minister rise in this House today and tell us why the Prime Minister is contradicting her chief negotiator?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety contradicted the Prime Minister when he said that rehabilitating ISIS terrorists was not very likely.Even though they do not believe that these terrorists can be rehabilitated, the Liberals are spending money on poetry and podcasts. What a joke.Will the Liberals instead spend that money on resources that will protect Canadians from terrorists?

Mr. Speaker, Jennifer McCrea is a young mom who was denied benefits while on maternity leave. Recently, she reached out to her local MP, the Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, in order to seek his help. In the two-minute meeting that the minister was willing to offer her, Ms. McCrea asked him why Ottawa was continuing to fight sick women, and he replied, “Well, Ms. McCrea, that is the old question, like asking ... 'When did you stop beating your wife?'” Could the minister explain to Canadians what was meant by this statement?

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. I hope that my colleagues will find it a bit odd to see a member of the Conservative Party talking about the importance of transparency. That is rather new to us. However, I must say that while my colleague thinks that people were at the pool, we were listening to Canadians, the small and medium-sized business owners who, as my colleague knows, participated broadly in the consultations led by our government. That is why we brought in the changes we will implement on January 1. All the details will be known before that date, obviously.

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have committed to implementing new taxes that promise to have a significant impact on the operations of small businesses in Canada. These changes are expected to take effect in less than month. The problem is that there are still no details. We know that small businesses are the backbone of the country. They deserve our respect. They deserve a plan. Will the Minister of Finance and the government please indicate when they will be introducing the changes in specificity?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance's record is atrocious.The minister initially told Canadians that there would be a small deficit of $10 billion, and now it is $20 billion. Even worse, he is racking up untold debt for future generations. There was supposed to be a balanced budget by the end of the government's term, but that will not happen. He is putting future generations in debt, to the tune of more than $100 million. They are going to have to pay off this debt. That is irresponsible for our children and grandchildren.When will the Minister of Finance resign?

Mr. Speaker, we share the member's view on the importance of small and medium-sized businesses to the Canadian economy. That is why we are fulfilling an important commitment we made to Canadians by lowering small business taxes from 11% in 2015 to 9% by 2019. With respect to the specific measures, I assume she is referring to income sprinkling. My colleague the Minister of Finance said they would take effect on January 1, and all of the details will be known, obviously, before that point.

Mr. Speaker, as a parliamentarian, I know my job is to meet with constituents and stakeholders across the country and work as hard as I can to represent their issues. I try to represent their interests in a real and fair manner. I will work hard to improve both myself as an individual and as a parliamentarian to continue to try and address their concerns. I am taking this very seriously.

Mr. Speaker, these assertions are entirely false, as confirmed by the Conflict of Interest Commissioner. Not only that, but the Liberal Party has moved forward with the strongest standards in federal politics for openness and transparency, including facilitating media coverage, advance postings, posting in publicly accessible places, and timely reporting of event details and guest lists. Contrast that to opposition parties, which continue to organize their fundraising events in secret, barring journalists and hiding details about who is attending their closed-door events.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has become quite skilled at avoiding Canadians' questions.Yesterday, the House Leader of the Official Opposition asked the minister a simple question. She asked whether he was the one who signed the memorandum to cabinet for Bill C-27. Can my colleagues guess what happened? We are still waiting for an answer.If the Minister of Finance is unable to answer our simple, softball questions, then I would ask him to issue a press release announcing his immediate resignation.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance misled Canadians that his assets were in a blind trust when they were not. He hid from the Ethics Commissioner an offshore company. He is under investigation as we speak. To top it off, he refuses to disclose assets in multiple numbered companies.With a record like that, there is only one thing left for the minister to do, and that is resign. Why will he not?

Mr. Speaker, the minister keeps saying she would like to reassure all Canadians who receive the disability tax credit that the eligibility criteria have not changed. However, a memo from her office says, “This is to inform you of updates to the current LST procedures and verses relating to adults with diabetes.” This means the eligibility criteria have, indeed, changed. Why does she continue to insult Canadians by insisting updated procedures means they have not changed?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to reassure all Canadians who receive the disability tax credit that the eligibility criteria have not changed. That being said, I am always open to hearing the concerns of all Canadians. If changes to Revenue Canada's procedures are needed, we will have that conversation with the experts who will be part of the committee that I will be making an announcement about tomorrow. We will ensure fairness for all recipients of the disability tax credit regardless of their disability.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety has admitted publicly that his government cannot rehabilitate hardened ISIS terrorists, yet it is still spending millions of dollars trying to rehabilitate them using poetry and podcasts.Why is it not using this money to protect Canadians against ISIS terrorists when it knows its strategy has no hope of working?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal defence policy states that the Royal Canadian Navy must have two naval task groups, each with a joint support ship, thus two support ships. That is on page 34. There is a problem. With the loss of the Preserver and the Protector, there is no vessel that can currently serve as a support ship.The Asterix is on its way, but where is the Obelix? Provisions were made for the Asterix. The contract was awarded to the Davie shipyard.Why does the government not award the Obelix contract before the holidays? Our national security depends on it. The workers—

Mr. Speaker, in December 2016, the interim Conservative leader, Ms. Ambrose, asked the Ethics Commissioner to investigate the Prime Minister's dinner with Chinese billionaires, including the founder of Wealth One bank in Vancouver. My question is simple: in the documents that the Prime Minister submitted to the Ethics Commissioner, was there a list of the Vancouver donors who donated $70,000 to the riding of Papineau on July 6 and 7, 2016?

Mr. Speaker, this afternoon, we will continue the report stage debate of Bill C-24, the one-tier ministry bill. Tomorrow, we shall commence second reading debate of Bill C-66, the expungement of historically unjust convictions act.On Monday, we will call report stage and third reading of Bill C-51, the charter cleanup legislation. Tuesday we will return to Bill C-24 at third reading. If Bill C-66 is reported back from committee, we would debate that on Wednesday with agreement. The backup bill for Wednesday will be Bill S-5, concerning vaping, at second reading. On Thursday, the House will debate Bill C-50, political financing. Then on Friday, we will consider Bill S-2, the strengthening motor vehicle safety for Canadians act.

Mr. Speaker, politicians have a duty to be transparent and to have integrity. We now have a Liberal government that is opaque and a Minister of Finance mired in conflicts of interest. This is a minister who organized consultations in the middle of summer, when entrepreneurs were relaxing around the pool. This is a minister who refuses to provide more information about the tax reform that will have a negative and catastrophic impact on our economy. Is there anyone in this government who will finally show a little bit of respect for our job creators?

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to fighting tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. Over the past two years, the government has invested nearly $1 billion to cracking down on tax evasion and tax avoidance. The Canada Revenue Agency levied more than $44 million in third-party penalties last year, and there are presently a number of criminal cases under way. The CRA has a full-time dedicated unit focused on offshore non-compliance, and this unit reviews money transfers over $10,000 that cross borders to and from Canada. In the past two years alone, the CRA has received information on more than $28 million in money transfers—

Mr. Speaker, his comments were inappropriate, but he is the one who thought them.This government claims to help our most vulnerable citizens, but in fact, quite the opposite is true. First, the Minister of National Revenue is caught taking money away from people with diabetes by denying them their tax credit. Then, the Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities behaves in a totally condescending way towards mothers who come to him for help by speaking words that I dare not repeat.It is not surprising that the Minister of National Revenue would go after the most vulnerable when the other minister, the one who is supposed to defend them, makes fun of them when they reach out for help.Who in this cabinet is going to clean up this mess and give vulnerable people their dignity and their money back?

Mr. Speaker, the government obviously allocates significant budgets for the defence, safety, and protection of Canadians, unlike the previous government, which cut $530 million from the RCMP, $390 million from the CBSA, $69 million from CSIS, $42 million from the CSE, and $71 million from CATSA. It is the previous government that underfunded the financing of Canada's security system.

Mr. Speaker, there is straightforward and then there is altogether inappropriate.We are starting to see a very disturbing pattern emerge here, and that is this. On Tuesday, it was thalidomide survivors and now it is new mothers. The minister released a public statement blaming this young mom for his inappropriate actions. For a feminist government that claims men must take responsibility for their actions against women, how does the minister justify blaming this young mom for his condescending words? Is this not victim blaming at its finest?

Mr. Speaker, I am extremely surprised to hear the minister lecturing us about transparency while tabling a bill on transparency accompanied by a gag order. That is quite peculiar.Let us come back to the file now before us. Business owners across Canada are concerned because a lot will change when the tax reforms take effect on January 1, which is just days from now. Next week, we will all be leaving Parliament Hill and going back to our ridings, but business owners still have no information about what is going to happen next year, in 2018.Is there a captain on this Liberal ship?

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to improving the lives of all Canadians. I recognize that when speaking to people, I tend to be straightforward. However, I regret my comments as I know they were brash and inappropriate, and I apologize. I remember the conversation with Ms. McCrea. It was a difficult conversation, and that is no excuse. I will take this opportunity to better myself as both an individual and as a parliamentarian.

Mr. Speaker, the United States' decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is reckless and will not only jeopardize the rights of Palestinians, but also scuttle any hope for peace in the region. This decision shows total disregard for international law and has already sparked clashes in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.France, Germany, and Italy are among the many countries to have expressed disapproval. Canada seems to have very little to say on the subject.Will the government join the international community in condemning this totally irresponsible decision?

Mr. Speaker, I have a story for you. Once upon a time, there was a Minister of National Revenue who had a fabulous $25-billion treasure. Sadly, the minister had an overactive imagination. The treasure was all in her head, just like her conviction that her ministry of magic has not changed the rules for people with diabetes. This might be funny if it were just a fairy tale, but the truth is that people are suffering.Can the minister leave her imaginary world behind and come back to Earth with the rest of us?

Mr. Speaker, if the finance minister will not resign, hopefully he will stand and answer the question I am about to ask him personally. Last summer, he launched a direct attack on small businesses. He ruined the ability of farmers to be in their fields, for tourism operators to serve their customers, and for others to enjoy a small break during that time. Now he is doing the same thing right before Christmas. He said he would have legislative proposals on his small business tax increase in the fall. If that is true, when will we see the bill?

Mr. Speaker, our government is acquiring two joint support ships to permanently replace the Protector class auxiliary oiler replenishment vessel, to equip the navy, and to ensure that it can carry out its mission. These two vessels will provide the requisite core replenishment, sealift, and ground operations support capabilities. Our government is committed to building two new vessels for the navy and maintaining Canada's naval capabilities in the long term. These contracts were awarded to the Vancouver shipyard and we are examining with—

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has become an expert at avoiding giving answers to Canadians. He hid his shares in a numbered company. He hid the date of the sale of some of those shares. Today, new documents show that the minister is continuing his practice of hiding information from Canadians. When asked simply if he as minister signed the memorandum approving Bill C-27, he refused to answer.If the minister refuses to be transparent about something as simple as this, will he not just resign?

Mr. Speaker, an internal report from the CRA dating from 2014 shows that before the election, 25% of Canadians received bad advice when they contacted the CRA. Now the Auditor General tells us it is 30% under the minister's watch, despite spending $50 million to respond to this problem. The CRA has shown time and time again that it is more interested in protecting itself than the taxpayer. This needs to change. As it stands now I have to ask this question, because I really cannot tell. Is the minister controlling the CRA or is the CRA controlling the minister?

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows very well, I will not comment on a specific case, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. The law prohibits me from doing so. However, I can assure my colleague that no one is interfering with agency audits. As long as I am the Minister of National Revenue, that will never happen. Let me be clear: no one is above the law.

Mr. Speaker, earlier during question period, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance referred to the government's tax policy. In order to set the record straight for Canadians, for the seventh time, I ask for the consent of the House to table the following document.It is the Department of Finance Canada's Annual Financial Report of the Government of—

Mr. Speaker, the duties imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Tribunal are unwanted, unfair, and deeply troubling.We recently challenged the countervailing duties under NAFTA's chapter 19, and two days ago we initiated legal action under the World Trade Organization. Our forestry industry has succeeded in every such previous dispute, as has Canada. We will continue to fiercely defend our softwood lumber industry and its incredible work.

Mr. Speaker, I recognize 100% that my comments were inappropriate, and I apologize profusely for them. I will continue to work on trying to improve both my individual self and myself as a parliamentarian. I know I will continue to work as hard as I can for my constituents. I know I will learn from this and move forward and better myself.

Mr. Speaker, last week, Canada reached a historic agreement in principle with our international partners to prevent unregulated commercial fishing in the high seas of the central Arctic Ocean. This is the first time an international agreement of this magnitude has been reached before any commercial fishing takes place on a region of the high seas. We have taken a strong, proactive, precautionary approach to potential fishing activities in the central Arctic Ocean. We will continue to work with our international partners, indigenous groups, and northerners to protect the Arctic Ocean.

Mr. Speaker, all I can do is reaffirm and reinforce that these assertions are entirely false, as confirmed by the Conflict of Interest Commissioner. Not only that, but the Liberal Party has indeed moved forward with the strongest standards in federal politics for openness and transparency, including facilitating media coverage, advance postings, posting in publicly accessible spaces, and timely reporting of event details and guest lists. It is open and it is transparent.

Mr. Speaker, this morning, the United States International Trade Commission unanimously voted against the Canadian lumber industry, because of the Liberal government's inaction and failure to get a deal done despite repeatedly assuring this House and Canadians that it was getting the job done. Canadian industry is being held ransom and is facing a lengthy and costly legal battle. Job losses and layoffs are going to be seen.What does this minister have to say to those hard-working forestry families who are now facing even a more uncertain future two weeks from the Christmas break?

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the government, which will hopefully be answered a little better than the questions were answered in question period, but we will see how that goes.I would ask the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons what the government has planned for the rest of this week and next week before we go back to our ridings for the Christmas break.

Mr. Speaker, it is becoming quite obvious that the opposition want to talk about anything else but the economy. When we talk about the economy and this government's record, it makes the Conservatives' record pale in comparison. Over the 10 years they were in government, Canada had the lowest growth since World War II. They had high unemployment as opposed to what we have achieved, the lowest unemployment in the last 10 years.That is why the opposition keeps focusing on playing politics while we work for Canadians. We will continue to work for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, Canada is a steadfast ally and friend of Israel, and a friend of the Palestinian people.Canada's long-standing position is that the status of Jerusalem can be resolved only as part of a general settlement of the dispute between the two parties. This has been the policy of consecutive governments, be they Conservative or Liberal. We are committed to the goal of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, including the creation of a Palestinian state, living side by side, in peace and security, with Israel.

Mr. Speaker, because this is my first opportunity to address the member directly, I want to say that we know full well on this side of the House how much of a fighter he is, and we want to wish him well. However, I am still going to make him answer tough questions.The Minister of Finance announced these changes this summer, and he really thought that Canadians would not notice. Unfortunately, what the Liberals encountered were vast protests and huge opposition. However, they are still pressing ahead with this tax increase on January 1, as the minister said.Today it was reported that the Liberals have spent more than $2.2 million on talent fees. This kind of overspending is exactly why they have to raise taxes on small businesses. Is the Minister of Finance really raising small business taxes so that he can pay the $2 million bill for actors they hired to promote their government?

Mr. Speaker, I am the captain today. You yourself have served as minister of fisheries and oceans, so you will know all about the Canadian Coast Guard, the captains, and the work they do. Mr. Speaker, I think you will agree that the entrepreneurs my colleague referred to are fully aware that we will be lowering taxes for them. The tax rate for small and medium-sized businesses will be cut from 11%, the 2015 rate, to 9% by 2019. That is a commitment we have made. Details about other measures, including income sprinkling, will of course be announced before their effective date.

Mr. Speaker, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is investigating the fact that preferential access to the Prime Minister was given to Chinese billionaires, including the founder of a bank in Vancouver. On the day that bank received its charter, Papineau received $70,000. Now we are expected to be satisfied with an answer like that. Canadians deserve respect. They deserve transparency. They deserve an answer. Did the Prime Minister give the list of Vancouver donors to the Ethics Commissioner, yes or no?

Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleague to repeat the same thing outside the House after question period. I invite him to tell me that I did not respect my diabetic husband, whom I stood by until his final days. I invite him to tell me that I disrespected all my clients when I was a social worker.I am extremely sensitive to the challenges facing people with diabetes. As minister, my role is to make fair and equitable decisions for everyone.

Mr. Speaker, yet another iconic Canadian species, sockeye salmon, is now threatened. While we appreciate the government's response to the NDP's call for a deadline to list a species at risk, it continues to fail in its duty to protect critical habitat. Many of these species are relied on by indigenous communities and other communities for their survival. Will even more court actions be needed to trigger government action on its duty to protect threatened species?

Mr. Speaker, that was part of broader agreements for government advertising. However, it is notable that our government has actually reduced government advertising from that of the Conservative government, of which the member for Milton was a member. In fact, that government spent, during its tenure, almost a billion dollars on quasi-partisan government advertising. Not only have we reduced government advertising costs, but we have also changed the rules to make sure no government abuses government advertising to promote political interests.

Mr. Speaker, the reaction to Trump's decision yesterday was swift around the world, from the UN to the EU, to France and Sweden, to name just a few. The condemnations continue to mount.However, Canada issued a spineless response that did not even refer to Trump's decision, a decision that will further undermine peace efforts. Is this really the kind of leadership that Canada wants to show on the world stage?

Mr. Speaker, our negotiating position is clear and always has been. We will defend the elements of NAFTA that Canadians know are essential to our national interests . We are negotiating in good faith, and we expect our partners to do the same. A winner-take-all attitude is not conducive to the actual results that we all seek in terms of a win-win-win. We cannot and will not accept proposals that put Canadian jobs at risk and do harm to our economy. We will always defend Canada's national interests and stand up for our values.

Mr. Speaker, in the Standing Committee on Finance, the Minister of National Revenue said that all taxpayer files are confidential, that they would remain so, and that no parliamentarian would have access to Canada Revenue Agency files, or would otherwise face jail time, no less. However, the Prime Minister, a parliamentarian, cleared his friend, Mr. Bronfman. He said “we have received assurances that all rules were followed…and we are satisfied with those assurances”. Can the minister tell us whether the Prime Minister had access to confidential information from the Canada Revenue Agency? If so, when will he face the consequences?

Mr. Speaker, we share my colleague's concern with respect to steelhead salmon. I have had the opportunity on a number of occasions to discuss that with the Government of British Columbia. We are working on a comprehensive approach that includes a reliance on science, traditional knowledge, and working with partners on habitat protection and coastal restoration. We have invested a record of amount of money in this. However, we do not think the job is done yet, and we will continue to do what we need to do to protect those iconic species.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Don Valley West for his question.Our government values family reunification. We also value the important services that caregivers provide to Canadians. However, for far too long these people have been waiting to reunite with their own families. Under the mismanagement of the immigration system by the Conservatives, caregivers have been facing wait times of between four and five years.Our government will eliminate the caregiver backlog by the end of 2018, and we will establish a new processing time of only 12 months for new applications. We believe in doing the right thing. Unlike the rhetoric from the other side, we have taken action. We have put resources in place, and have put the right people in place to eliminate this backlog. At the end of the day, this is about people.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has not answered any of the reasonable and fair questions we have asked regarding his conduct. What we have discovered is that the minister was actively managing shares in Morneau Shepell while he was promoting Bill C-27, which would directly benefit his family business.Why will the minister not answer this simple question? Was he the one who signed the memo to approve Bill C-27?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance's lack of ethics is becoming quite an embarrassment to the government. The person responsible for the country's budget has woven quite a tangled web for himself. He is refusing to explain why he sold his shares just days before introducing a new tax policy. He is now the subject of a comprehensive investigation by the Ethics Commissioner because he introduced a bill that could benefit his family company.Considering all of these developments, will the Minister of Finance do the right thing and resign?

Mr. Speaker, Rosalie is a caregiver living, working, and helping in Don Valley West. In 2014, needing surgery, she applied for permanent residency, which would have allowed her to have her family come here to help her. She is still waiting.In 2012, Mary-Ann applied for her PR, asking for my help in 2016. She is still waiting.Too many live-in caregivers are waiting far too long for their families, while they care for ours. Could the Minister of Immigration tell the House what he is doing to reunite caregivers with their families?

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister's ethical challenges are very concerning. He is currently under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner for introducing legislation that could benefit his family corporation. He has already been fined for failing to disclose his offshore corporation. The minister refuses to come clean about the contents of his other numbered companies. How many ethics investigations will it take before the minister just does the right thing and resigns?

Mr. Speaker, first of all, the Minister of Finance has successfully grown our economy at a remarkable rate over the past two years, so no, he will certainly not be resigning.As Minister of Finance, he has done what needed to be done for Canadians, not only by lowering the small business tax rate from 11% to 9% by 2019, but also by stimulating the economy to create 600,000 jobs in two years. That is much more than they ever did, so the answer to the hon. member for Beauce is no.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Beauce for his question.It gives me an opportunity to remind members that when we were elected in 2015, our debt-to-GDP ratio was 32.5%. Today, it stands at 30.5%. By the end of our term, it will be lower than it was in the 1970s. That is the best fiscal position of all G7 countries. It is not surprising that Christine Lagarde of the IMF says that the Canadian approach should be emulated and should go viral, because investing when interest rates are low and infrastructure is needed is the right thing to do for Canadians, for the economy, and for our entrepreneurs.

Mr. Speaker, as I just reiterated, I have read the Auditor General's report and completely agree with all his recommendations. In our first budget, we invested over $50 million in our call centres, which had been neglected for over 20 years. We hired more agents. We have an action plan in place. We want a more modern telephone platform that can meet our clients' needs. We are going to give training to the people who work in our call centres. We are going to create service standards that will meet Canadians'—

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her generous comments a minute ago. I am glad she visited the Tobique—Mactaquac part of my home province of New Brunswick. The constituency is very fortunate to have an outstanding member of Parliament who himself was a small business owner from that community and who has spoken to our government repeatedly about the importance of those small businesses in Tobique—Mactaquac. He was one of the loudest voices encouraging our government to act quickly on the campaign commitment we made to lower the small business taxes for those businesses she met in Tobique—Mactaquac. I am sure she will celebrate that good news with us.

Mr. Speaker, our government is fully committed to fighting tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. The revenue agency has a very effective recovery process, which was strengthened by our investments of close to $1 billion. We now have the tools needed to effectively combat tax cheats. We are on track to recoup $25 billion as a result of audits conducted over the past two years. Every company and individual affected was notified of the changes to these audits, and new notices of assessment were sent out as needed.

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to protecting all species at risk, including Pacific salmon. We have worked with Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Province of British Columbia to implement something that I know is very important to my colleagues from British Columbia, 64 of the 75 recommendations of the Cohen Commission. We will continue to work diligently in that regard. We will continue to make the investments in habitat protection, science, and enforcement. We will restore lost protections in the Fisheries Act, as we committed to Canadians. We will get the job done and we will ensure those iconic species are protected.

Mr. Speaker, Canada is very proud of its leadership on the world stage. Canada is a steadfast ally and friend of Israel, and a friend of the Palestinian people.Canada's long-standing position is that the status of Jerusalem can be resolved only as part of a general settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli dispute. This has been the policy of consecutive governments, be they Conservative or Liberal. We are strongly committed to the goal of a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East, including the creation of a Palestinian state, living side by side, in peace and security, with Israel.

Mr. Speaker, with regard to income sprinkling, the Minister of Fisheries has been clear that the details will come forward shortly before the January 1 implementation date. Our goal has always been to bring more fairness to our tax system. We do not think it is fair that a wealthy Canadian can institute a private corporation to save the equivalent of the average Canadian's income per year. We think that we have to have a fiscal system that is fair for all Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, I read the Auditor General's report, and I support all his recommendations. In our very first budget, we invested $50 million in the CRA's call centres. We have already started hiring more agents to respond to more Canadians. We already have an action plan that focuses on modernizing our telephone platform, improving training, and updating our service standards.

Mr. Speaker, our colleague opposite refuses to talk about Creative Canada, our new cultural policy. That is because the Conservatives know that it lines up perfectly with our election promises, which were much more ambitious than theirs, and because they know that we are investing additional billions in culture, something they never could have done.The NDP lost its credibility when it comes to investing in culture. What is more, last week the NDP lost its credibility when it comes to defending the French language before the Supreme Court.

Mr. Speaker, for weeks now, the revenue minister has repeated over and over again that the CRA under the Liberal government has recovered $25 billion in tax evasion, except no one knows where it comes from and the minister is not able to explain that to anyone. Her own department does not know where this information comes from. There is a difference between money identified and money recovered. How can Canadians believe the minister when her own administration does not know what she is talking about?

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister has worked with the Ethics Commissioner and answered all of her questions. He will always work with the Ethics Commissioner to make sure all of the rules are followed, so he can continue the important work he has been doing the last two years, which has been to grow the economy at twice the growth the Conservative Party was able to achieve in the 10 years it was in power, creating more jobs than it ever could in their time in office. That is what the finance minister has been doing the last two years.

Mr. Speaker, I recently launched the smart cities challenge in Calgary, encouraging communities to work together to improve the lives of the residents through innovation, data, and connected technologies. We are encouraging our partners to be bold and innovative, and participate in the smart cities challenge in order to build stronger, more sustainable, and inclusive communities, and create jobs and a more thriving economy.

No, Mr. Speaker, the finance minister will not resign, because the finance minister has delivered more for the Canadian economy and Canadians than those members ever did in 10 years.We are talking about close to 600,000 jobs created in the last two years, most of them full time. We are talking about the fastest growth in the G7. We are talking about a reduction in child poverty in Canada by 40%. We are talking about one million seniors who have seen their revenue go up with the guaranteed income supplement. That is the finance minister's work. That is this government's work. So no, the finance minister will not resign.

Mr. Speaker, the tax policy the member mentioned, which was announced on December 7, 2015, is one that we are proud of. We increased taxes for the 1% so we could lower them for nine million middle-class Canadians. That was one of our campaign promises, and that is why we were back in power in December 2015.Members on this side of the House believe that making our tax system fairer by increasing taxes for the 1% and lowering taxes for the middle class was and is a good thing.

Mr. Speaker, our government is making historic infrastructure investments in communities across the country through the 12-year $186-billion infrastructure plan. We are working with our partners to move their priorities forward and challenging them to be innovative in both the projects they put forward and how they think about community improvement planning resulting in community building.Can the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities please update this House on the government's latest challenge to Canadian communities?

Mr. Speaker, the Arctic is one of our greatest treasures. As the member for Northwest Territories, I know how precious our coastlines, oceans, and fisheries are for the people of the north and for all Canadians.As climate change changes our landscapes and ecosystems, we have a responsibility to protect them now more than ever. Could the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard please update the House on what the government is doing to protect the high seas of the central Arctic Ocean?

Mr. Speaker, to answer the member's question, I believe that constitutes cabinet confidence. On another note, though, I will say that the finance minister over the last two years has done amazingly well at growing this economy. We are very proud of the work he has done to make sure that Canada is prosperous, and that this prosperity is good for everyone and benefits us all.

Mr. Speaker, to answer the member's question, I believe that constitutes cabinet confidence. On another note, though, I will say that the finance minister over the last two years has done amazingly well at growing this economy. We are very proud of the work he has done to make sure that Canada is prosperous, and that this prosperity is good for everyone and benefits us all.

Mr. Speaker, the Arctic is one of our greatest treasures. As the member for Northwest Territories, I know how precious our coastlines, oceans, and fisheries are for the people of the north and for all Canadians.As climate change changes our landscapes and ecosystems, we have a responsibility to protect them now more than ever. Could the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard please update the House on what the government is doing to protect the high seas of the central Arctic Ocean?

Mr. Speaker, the tax policy the member mentioned, which was announced on December 7, 2015, is one that we are proud of. We increased taxes for the 1% so we could lower them for nine million middle-class Canadians. That was one of our campaign promises, and that is why we were back in power in December 2015.Members on this side of the House believe that making our tax system fairer by increasing taxes for the 1% and lowering taxes for the middle class was and is a good thing.

Mr. Speaker, our government is making historic infrastructure investments in communities across the country through the 12-year $186-billion infrastructure plan. We are working with our partners to move their priorities forward and challenging them to be innovative in both the projects they put forward and how they think about community improvement planning resulting in community building.Can the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities please update this House on the government's latest challenge to Canadian communities?

No, Mr. Speaker, the finance minister will not resign, because the finance minister has delivered more for the Canadian economy and Canadians than those members ever did in 10 years.We are talking about close to 600,000 jobs created in the last two years, most of them full time. We are talking about the fastest growth in the G7. We are talking about a reduction in child poverty in Canada by 40%. We are talking about one million seniors who have seen their revenue go up with the guaranteed income supplement. That is the finance minister's work. That is this government's work. So no, the finance minister will not resign.

Mr. Speaker, I recently launched the smart cities challenge in Calgary, encouraging communities to work together to improve the lives of the residents through innovation, data, and connected technologies. We are encouraging our partners to be bold and innovative, and participate in the smart cities challenge in order to build stronger, more sustainable, and inclusive communities, and create jobs and a more thriving economy.

Mr. Speaker, for weeks now, the revenue minister has repeated over and over again that the CRA under the Liberal government has recovered $25 billion in tax evasion, except no one knows where it comes from and the minister is not able to explain that to anyone. Her own department does not know where this information comes from. There is a difference between money identified and money recovered. How can Canadians believe the minister when her own administration does not know what she is talking about?

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister has worked with the Ethics Commissioner and answered all of her questions. He will always work with the Ethics Commissioner to make sure all of the rules are followed, so he can continue the important work he has been doing the last two years, which has been to grow the economy at twice the growth the Conservative Party was able to achieve in the 10 years it was in power, creating more jobs than it ever could in their time in office. That is what the finance minister has been doing the last two years.

Mr. Speaker, our colleague opposite refuses to talk about Creative Canada, our new cultural policy. That is because the Conservatives know that it lines up perfectly with our election promises, which were much more ambitious than theirs, and because they know that we are investing additional billions in culture, something they never could have done.The NDP lost its credibility when it comes to investing in culture. What is more, last week the NDP lost its credibility when it comes to defending the French language before the Supreme Court.

Mr. Speaker, I read the Auditor General's report, and I support all his recommendations. In our very first budget, we invested $50 million in the CRA's call centres. We have already started hiring more agents to respond to more Canadians. We already have an action plan that focuses on modernizing our telephone platform, improving training, and updating our service standards.

Mr. Speaker, with regard to income sprinkling, the Minister of Fisheries has been clear that the details will come forward shortly before the January 1 implementation date. Our goal has always been to bring more fairness to our tax system. We do not think it is fair that a wealthy Canadian can institute a private corporation to save the equivalent of the average Canadian's income per year. We think that we have to have a fiscal system that is fair for all Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, Canada is very proud of its leadership on the world stage. Canada is a steadfast ally and friend of Israel, and a friend of the Palestinian people.Canada's long-standing position is that the status of Jerusalem can be resolved only as part of a general settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli dispute. This has been the policy of consecutive governments, be they Conservative or Liberal. We are strongly committed to the goal of a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East, including the creation of a Palestinian state, living side by side, in peace and security, with Israel.

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to protecting all species at risk, including Pacific salmon. We have worked with Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Province of British Columbia to implement something that I know is very important to my colleagues from British Columbia, 64 of the 75 recommendations of the Cohen Commission. We will continue to work diligently in that regard. We will continue to make the investments in habitat protection, science, and enforcement. We will restore lost protections in the Fisheries Act, as we committed to Canadians. We will get the job done and we will ensure those iconic species are protected.

Mr. Speaker, our government is fully committed to fighting tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. The revenue agency has a very effective recovery process, which was strengthened by our investments of close to $1 billion. We now have the tools needed to effectively combat tax cheats. We are on track to recoup $25 billion as a result of audits conducted over the past two years. Every company and individual affected was notified of the changes to these audits, and new notices of assessment were sent out as needed.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her generous comments a minute ago. I am glad she visited the Tobique—Mactaquac part of my home province of New Brunswick. The constituency is very fortunate to have an outstanding member of Parliament who himself was a small business owner from that community and who has spoken to our government repeatedly about the importance of those small businesses in Tobique—Mactaquac. He was one of the loudest voices encouraging our government to act quickly on the campaign commitment we made to lower the small business taxes for those businesses she met in Tobique—Mactaquac. I am sure she will celebrate that good news with us.

Mr. Speaker, as I just reiterated, I have read the Auditor General's report and completely agree with all his recommendations. In our first budget, we invested over $50 million in our call centres, which had been neglected for over 20 years. We hired more agents. We have an action plan in place. We want a more modern telephone platform that can meet our clients' needs. We are going to give training to the people who work in our call centres. We are going to create service standards that will meet Canadians'—

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Beauce for his question.It gives me an opportunity to remind members that when we were elected in 2015, our debt-to-GDP ratio was 32.5%. Today, it stands at 30.5%. By the end of our term, it will be lower than it was in the 1970s. That is the best fiscal position of all G7 countries. It is not surprising that Christine Lagarde of the IMF says that the Canadian approach should be emulated and should go viral, because investing when interest rates are low and infrastructure is needed is the right thing to do for Canadians, for the economy, and for our entrepreneurs.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, the Minister of Finance has successfully grown our economy at a remarkable rate over the past two years, so no, he will certainly not be resigning.As Minister of Finance, he has done what needed to be done for Canadians, not only by lowering the small business tax rate from 11% to 9% by 2019, but also by stimulating the economy to create 600,000 jobs in two years. That is much more than they ever did, so the answer to the hon. member for Beauce is no.

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister's ethical challenges are very concerning. He is currently under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner for introducing legislation that could benefit his family corporation. He has already been fined for failing to disclose his offshore corporation. The minister refuses to come clean about the contents of his other numbered companies. How many ethics investigations will it take before the minister just does the right thing and resigns?

Mr. Speaker, Rosalie is a caregiver living, working, and helping in Don Valley West. In 2014, needing surgery, she applied for permanent residency, which would have allowed her to have her family come here to help her. She is still waiting.In 2012, Mary-Ann applied for her PR, asking for my help in 2016. She is still waiting.Too many live-in caregivers are waiting far too long for their families, while they care for ours. Could the Minister of Immigration tell the House what he is doing to reunite caregivers with their families?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance's lack of ethics is becoming quite an embarrassment to the government. The person responsible for the country's budget has woven quite a tangled web for himself. He is refusing to explain why he sold his shares just days before introducing a new tax policy. He is now the subject of a comprehensive investigation by the Ethics Commissioner because he introduced a bill that could benefit his family company.Considering all of these developments, will the Minister of Finance do the right thing and resign?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has not answered any of the reasonable and fair questions we have asked regarding his conduct. What we have discovered is that the minister was actively managing shares in Morneau Shepell while he was promoting Bill C-27, which would directly benefit his family business.Why will the minister not answer this simple question? Was he the one who signed the memo to approve Bill C-27?

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Don Valley West for his question.Our government values family reunification. We also value the important services that caregivers provide to Canadians. However, for far too long these people have been waiting to reunite with their own families. Under the mismanagement of the immigration system by the Conservatives, caregivers have been facing wait times of between four and five years.Our government will eliminate the caregiver backlog by the end of 2018, and we will establish a new processing time of only 12 months for new applications. We believe in doing the right thing. Unlike the rhetoric from the other side, we have taken action. We have put resources in place, and have put the right people in place to eliminate this backlog. At the end of the day, this is about people.

Mr. Speaker, we share my colleague's concern with respect to steelhead salmon. I have had the opportunity on a number of occasions to discuss that with the Government of British Columbia. We are working on a comprehensive approach that includes a reliance on science, traditional knowledge, and working with partners on habitat protection and coastal restoration. We have invested a record of amount of money in this. However, we do not think the job is done yet, and we will continue to do what we need to do to protect those iconic species.

Mr. Speaker, in the Standing Committee on Finance, the Minister of National Revenue said that all taxpayer files are confidential, that they would remain so, and that no parliamentarian would have access to Canada Revenue Agency files, or would otherwise face jail time, no less. However, the Prime Minister, a parliamentarian, cleared his friend, Mr. Bronfman. He said “we have received assurances that all rules were followed…and we are satisfied with those assurances”. Can the minister tell us whether the Prime Minister had access to confidential information from the Canada Revenue Agency? If so, when will he face the consequences?

Mr. Speaker, the reaction to Trump's decision yesterday was swift around the world, from the UN to the EU, to France and Sweden, to name just a few. The condemnations continue to mount.However, Canada issued a spineless response that did not even refer to Trump's decision, a decision that will further undermine peace efforts. Is this really the kind of leadership that Canada wants to show on the world stage?

Mr. Speaker, our negotiating position is clear and always has been. We will defend the elements of NAFTA that Canadians know are essential to our national interests . We are negotiating in good faith, and we expect our partners to do the same. A winner-take-all attitude is not conducive to the actual results that we all seek in terms of a win-win-win. We cannot and will not accept proposals that put Canadian jobs at risk and do harm to our economy. We will always defend Canada's national interests and stand up for our values.

Mr. Speaker, that was part of broader agreements for government advertising. However, it is notable that our government has actually reduced government advertising from that of the Conservative government, of which the member for Milton was a member. In fact, that government spent, during its tenure, almost a billion dollars on quasi-partisan government advertising. Not only have we reduced government advertising costs, but we have also changed the rules to make sure no government abuses government advertising to promote political interests.

Mr. Speaker, yet another iconic Canadian species, sockeye salmon, is now threatened. While we appreciate the government's response to the NDP's call for a deadline to list a species at risk, it continues to fail in its duty to protect critical habitat. Many of these species are relied on by indigenous communities and other communities for their survival. Will even more court actions be needed to trigger government action on its duty to protect threatened species?

Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleague to repeat the same thing outside the House after question period. I invite him to tell me that I did not respect my diabetic husband, whom I stood by until his final days. I invite him to tell me that I disrespected all my clients when I was a social worker.I am extremely sensitive to the challenges facing people with diabetes. As minister, my role is to make fair and equitable decisions for everyone.

Mr. Speaker, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is investigating the fact that preferential access to the Prime Minister was given to Chinese billionaires, including the founder of a bank in Vancouver. On the day that bank received its charter, Papineau received $70,000. Now we are expected to be satisfied with an answer like that. Canadians deserve respect. They deserve transparency. They deserve an answer. Did the Prime Minister give the list of Vancouver donors to the Ethics Commissioner, yes or no?

Mr. Speaker, I am the captain today. You yourself have served as minister of fisheries and oceans, so you will know all about the Canadian Coast Guard, the captains, and the work they do. Mr. Speaker, I think you will agree that the entrepreneurs my colleague referred to are fully aware that we will be lowering taxes for them. The tax rate for small and medium-sized businesses will be cut from 11%, the 2015 rate, to 9% by 2019. That is a commitment we have made. Details about other measures, including income sprinkling, will of course be announced before their effective date.

Mr. Speaker, because this is my first opportunity to address the member directly, I want to say that we know full well on this side of the House how much of a fighter he is, and we want to wish him well. However, I am still going to make him answer tough questions.The Minister of Finance announced these changes this summer, and he really thought that Canadians would not notice. Unfortunately, what the Liberals encountered were vast protests and huge opposition. However, they are still pressing ahead with this tax increase on January 1, as the minister said.Today it was reported that the Liberals have spent more than $2.2 million on talent fees. This kind of overspending is exactly why they have to raise taxes on small businesses. Is the Minister of Finance really raising small business taxes so that he can pay the $2 million bill for actors they hired to promote their government?

Mr. Speaker, Canada is a steadfast ally and friend of Israel, and a friend of the Palestinian people.Canada's long-standing position is that the status of Jerusalem can be resolved only as part of a general settlement of the dispute between the two parties. This has been the policy of consecutive governments, be they Conservative or Liberal. We are committed to the goal of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, including the creation of a Palestinian state, living side by side, in peace and security, with Israel.

Mr. Speaker, it is becoming quite obvious that the opposition want to talk about anything else but the economy. When we talk about the economy and this government's record, it makes the Conservatives' record pale in comparison. Over the 10 years they were in government, Canada had the lowest growth since World War II. They had high unemployment as opposed to what we have achieved, the lowest unemployment in the last 10 years.That is why the opposition keeps focusing on playing politics while we work for Canadians. We will continue to work for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the government, which will hopefully be answered a little better than the questions were answered in question period, but we will see how that goes.I would ask the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons what the government has planned for the rest of this week and next week before we go back to our ridings for the Christmas break.

Mr. Speaker, this morning, the United States International Trade Commission unanimously voted against the Canadian lumber industry, because of the Liberal government's inaction and failure to get a deal done despite repeatedly assuring this House and Canadians that it was getting the job done. Canadian industry is being held ransom and is facing a lengthy and costly legal battle. Job losses and layoffs are going to be seen.What does this minister have to say to those hard-working forestry families who are now facing even a more uncertain future two weeks from the Christmas break?

Mr. Speaker, all I can do is reaffirm and reinforce that these assertions are entirely false, as confirmed by the Conflict of Interest Commissioner. Not only that, but the Liberal Party has indeed moved forward with the strongest standards in federal politics for openness and transparency, including facilitating media coverage, advance postings, posting in publicly accessible spaces, and timely reporting of event details and guest lists. It is open and it is transparent.

Mr. Speaker, last week, Canada reached a historic agreement in principle with our international partners to prevent unregulated commercial fishing in the high seas of the central Arctic Ocean. This is the first time an international agreement of this magnitude has been reached before any commercial fishing takes place on a region of the high seas. We have taken a strong, proactive, precautionary approach to potential fishing activities in the central Arctic Ocean. We will continue to work with our international partners, indigenous groups, and northerners to protect the Arctic Ocean.

Mr. Speaker, I recognize 100% that my comments were inappropriate, and I apologize profusely for them. I will continue to work on trying to improve both my individual self and myself as a parliamentarian. I know I will continue to work as hard as I can for my constituents. I know I will learn from this and move forward and better myself.

Mr. Speaker, the duties imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Tribunal are unwanted, unfair, and deeply troubling.We recently challenged the countervailing duties under NAFTA's chapter 19, and two days ago we initiated legal action under the World Trade Organization. Our forestry industry has succeeded in every such previous dispute, as has Canada. We will continue to fiercely defend our softwood lumber industry and its incredible work.

Mr. Speaker, an internal report from the CRA dating from 2014 shows that before the election, 25% of Canadians received bad advice when they contacted the CRA. Now the Auditor General tells us it is 30% under the minister's watch, despite spending $50 million to respond to this problem. The CRA has shown time and time again that it is more interested in protecting itself than the taxpayer. This needs to change. As it stands now I have to ask this question, because I really cannot tell. Is the minister controlling the CRA or is the CRA controlling the minister?

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows very well, I will not comment on a specific case, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. The law prohibits me from doing so. However, I can assure my colleague that no one is interfering with agency audits. As long as I am the Minister of National Revenue, that will never happen. Let me be clear: no one is above the law.

Mr. Speaker, earlier during question period, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance referred to the government's tax policy. In order to set the record straight for Canadians, for the seventh time, I ask for the consent of the House to table the following document.It is the Department of Finance Canada's Annual Financial Report of the Government of—

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has become an expert at avoiding giving answers to Canadians. He hid his shares in a numbered company. He hid the date of the sale of some of those shares. Today, new documents show that the minister is continuing his practice of hiding information from Canadians. When asked simply if he as minister signed the memorandum approving Bill C-27, he refused to answer.If the minister refuses to be transparent about something as simple as this, will he not just resign?

Mr. Speaker, our government is acquiring two joint support ships to permanently replace the Protector class auxiliary oiler replenishment vessel, to equip the navy, and to ensure that it can carry out its mission. These two vessels will provide the requisite core replenishment, sealift, and ground operations support capabilities. Our government is committed to building two new vessels for the navy and maintaining Canada's naval capabilities in the long term. These contracts were awarded to the Vancouver shipyard and we are examining with—

Mr. Speaker, if the finance minister will not resign, hopefully he will stand and answer the question I am about to ask him personally. Last summer, he launched a direct attack on small businesses. He ruined the ability of farmers to be in their fields, for tourism operators to serve their customers, and for others to enjoy a small break during that time. Now he is doing the same thing right before Christmas. He said he would have legislative proposals on his small business tax increase in the fall. If that is true, when will we see the bill?

Mr. Speaker, I have a story for you. Once upon a time, there was a Minister of National Revenue who had a fabulous $25-billion treasure. Sadly, the minister had an overactive imagination. The treasure was all in her head, just like her conviction that her ministry of magic has not changed the rules for people with diabetes. This might be funny if it were just a fairy tale, but the truth is that people are suffering.Can the minister leave her imaginary world behind and come back to Earth with the rest of us?

Mr. Speaker, the United States' decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is reckless and will not only jeopardize the rights of Palestinians, but also scuttle any hope for peace in the region. This decision shows total disregard for international law and has already sparked clashes in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.France, Germany, and Italy are among the many countries to have expressed disapproval. Canada seems to have very little to say on the subject.Will the government join the international community in condemning this totally irresponsible decision?

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to improving the lives of all Canadians. I recognize that when speaking to people, I tend to be straightforward. However, I regret my comments as I know they were brash and inappropriate, and I apologize. I remember the conversation with Ms. McCrea. It was a difficult conversation, and that is no excuse. I will take this opportunity to better myself as both an individual and as a parliamentarian.

Mr. Speaker, I am extremely surprised to hear the minister lecturing us about transparency while tabling a bill on transparency accompanied by a gag order. That is quite peculiar.Let us come back to the file now before us. Business owners across Canada are concerned because a lot will change when the tax reforms take effect on January 1, which is just days from now. Next week, we will all be leaving Parliament Hill and going back to our ridings, but business owners still have no information about what is going to happen next year, in 2018.Is there a captain on this Liberal ship?

Mr. Speaker, there is straightforward and then there is altogether inappropriate.We are starting to see a very disturbing pattern emerge here, and that is this. On Tuesday, it was thalidomide survivors and now it is new mothers. The minister released a public statement blaming this young mom for his inappropriate actions. For a feminist government that claims men must take responsibility for their actions against women, how does the minister justify blaming this young mom for his condescending words? Is this not victim blaming at its finest?

Mr. Speaker, the government obviously allocates significant budgets for the defence, safety, and protection of Canadians, unlike the previous government, which cut $530 million from the RCMP, $390 million from the CBSA, $69 million from CSIS, $42 million from the CSE, and $71 million from CATSA. It is the previous government that underfunded the financing of Canada's security system.

Mr. Speaker, his comments were inappropriate, but he is the one who thought them.This government claims to help our most vulnerable citizens, but in fact, quite the opposite is true. First, the Minister of National Revenue is caught taking money away from people with diabetes by denying them their tax credit. Then, the Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities behaves in a totally condescending way towards mothers who come to him for help by speaking words that I dare not repeat.It is not surprising that the Minister of National Revenue would go after the most vulnerable when the other minister, the one who is supposed to defend them, makes fun of them when they reach out for help.Who in this cabinet is going to clean up this mess and give vulnerable people their dignity and their money back?

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to fighting tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. Over the past two years, the government has invested nearly $1 billion to cracking down on tax evasion and tax avoidance. The Canada Revenue Agency levied more than $44 million in third-party penalties last year, and there are presently a number of criminal cases under way. The CRA has a full-time dedicated unit focused on offshore non-compliance, and this unit reviews money transfers over $10,000 that cross borders to and from Canada. In the past two years alone, the CRA has received information on more than $28 million in money transfers—

Mr. Speaker, politicians have a duty to be transparent and to have integrity. We now have a Liberal government that is opaque and a Minister of Finance mired in conflicts of interest. This is a minister who organized consultations in the middle of summer, when entrepreneurs were relaxing around the pool. This is a minister who refuses to provide more information about the tax reform that will have a negative and catastrophic impact on our economy. Is there anyone in this government who will finally show a little bit of respect for our job creators?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has become quite skilled at avoiding Canadians' questions.Yesterday, the House Leader of the Official Opposition asked the minister a simple question. She asked whether he was the one who signed the memorandum to cabinet for Bill C-27. Can my colleagues guess what happened? We are still waiting for an answer.If the Minister of Finance is unable to answer our simple, softball questions, then I would ask him to issue a press release announcing his immediate resignation.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance misled Canadians that his assets were in a blind trust when they were not. He hid from the Ethics Commissioner an offshore company. He is under investigation as we speak. To top it off, he refuses to disclose assets in multiple numbered companies.With a record like that, there is only one thing left for the minister to do, and that is resign. Why will he not?

Mr. Speaker, the minister keeps saying she would like to reassure all Canadians who receive the disability tax credit that the eligibility criteria have not changed. However, a memo from her office says, “This is to inform you of updates to the current LST procedures and verses relating to adults with diabetes.” This means the eligibility criteria have, indeed, changed. Why does she continue to insult Canadians by insisting updated procedures means they have not changed?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to reassure all Canadians who receive the disability tax credit that the eligibility criteria have not changed. That being said, I am always open to hearing the concerns of all Canadians. If changes to Revenue Canada's procedures are needed, we will have that conversation with the experts who will be part of the committee that I will be making an announcement about tomorrow. We will ensure fairness for all recipients of the disability tax credit regardless of their disability.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety has admitted publicly that his government cannot rehabilitate hardened ISIS terrorists, yet it is still spending millions of dollars trying to rehabilitate them using poetry and podcasts.Why is it not using this money to protect Canadians against ISIS terrorists when it knows its strategy has no hope of working?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal defence policy states that the Royal Canadian Navy must have two naval task groups, each with a joint support ship, thus two support ships. That is on page 34. There is a problem. With the loss of the Preserver and the Protector, there is no vessel that can currently serve as a support ship.The Asterix is on its way, but where is the Obelix? Provisions were made for the Asterix. The contract was awarded to the Davie shipyard.Why does the government not award the Obelix contract before the holidays? Our national security depends on it. The workers—

Mr. Speaker, in December 2016, the interim Conservative leader, Ms. Ambrose, asked the Ethics Commissioner to investigate the Prime Minister's dinner with Chinese billionaires, including the founder of Wealth One bank in Vancouver. My question is simple: in the documents that the Prime Minister submitted to the Ethics Commissioner, was there a list of the Vancouver donors who donated $70,000 to the riding of Papineau on July 6 and 7, 2016?

Mr. Speaker, this afternoon, we will continue the report stage debate of Bill C-24, the one-tier ministry bill. Tomorrow, we shall commence second reading debate of Bill C-66, the expungement of historically unjust convictions act.On Monday, we will call report stage and third reading of Bill C-51, the charter cleanup legislation. Tuesday we will return to Bill C-24 at third reading. If Bill C-66 is reported back from committee, we would debate that on Wednesday with agreement. The backup bill for Wednesday will be Bill S-5, concerning vaping, at second reading. On Thursday, the House will debate Bill C-50, political financing. Then on Friday, we will consider Bill S-2, the strengthening motor vehicle safety for Canadians act.

Mr. Speaker, these assertions are entirely false, as confirmed by the Conflict of Interest Commissioner. Not only that, but the Liberal Party has moved forward with the strongest standards in federal politics for openness and transparency, including facilitating media coverage, advance postings, posting in publicly accessible places, and timely reporting of event details and guest lists. Contrast that to opposition parties, which continue to organize their fundraising events in secret, barring journalists and hiding details about who is attending their closed-door events.

Mr. Speaker, as a parliamentarian, I know my job is to meet with constituents and stakeholders across the country and work as hard as I can to represent their issues. I try to represent their interests in a real and fair manner. I will work hard to improve both myself as an individual and as a parliamentarian to continue to try and address their concerns. I am taking this very seriously.

Mr. Speaker, we share the member's view on the importance of small and medium-sized businesses to the Canadian economy. That is why we are fulfilling an important commitment we made to Canadians by lowering small business taxes from 11% in 2015 to 9% by 2019. With respect to the specific measures, I assume she is referring to income sprinkling. My colleague the Minister of Finance said they would take effect on January 1, and all of the details will be known, obviously, before that point.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance's record is atrocious.The minister initially told Canadians that there would be a small deficit of $10 billion, and now it is $20 billion. Even worse, he is racking up untold debt for future generations. There was supposed to be a balanced budget by the end of the government's term, but that will not happen. He is putting future generations in debt, to the tune of more than $100 million. They are going to have to pay off this debt. That is irresponsible for our children and grandchildren.When will the Minister of Finance resign?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have committed to implementing new taxes that promise to have a significant impact on the operations of small businesses in Canada. These changes are expected to take effect in less than month. The problem is that there are still no details. We know that small businesses are the backbone of the country. They deserve our respect. They deserve a plan. Will the Minister of Finance and the government please indicate when they will be introducing the changes in specificity?

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. I hope that my colleagues will find it a bit odd to see a member of the Conservative Party talking about the importance of transparency. That is rather new to us. However, I must say that while my colleague thinks that people were at the pool, we were listening to Canadians, the small and medium-sized business owners who, as my colleague knows, participated broadly in the consultations led by our government. That is why we brought in the changes we will implement on January 1. All the details will be known before that date, obviously.

Mr. Speaker, Jennifer McCrea is a young mom who was denied benefits while on maternity leave. Recently, she reached out to her local MP, the Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, in order to seek his help. In the two-minute meeting that the minister was willing to offer her, Ms. McCrea asked him why Ottawa was continuing to fight sick women, and he replied, “Well, Ms. McCrea, that is the old question, like asking ... 'When did you stop beating your wife?'” Could the minister explain to Canadians what was meant by this statement?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety contradicted the Prime Minister when he said that rehabilitating ISIS terrorists was not very likely.Even though they do not believe that these terrorists can be rehabilitated, the Liberals are spending money on poetry and podcasts. What a joke.Will the Liberals instead spend that money on resources that will protect Canadians from terrorists?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals appear to be giving up on NAFTA. In China, the Prime Minister suggested that he will work on a Canada-U.S. deal if NAFTA is cancelled. Back home, Canada's chief negotiator suggests that Canada and Mexico will move ahead alone if the U.S. withdraws. The Liberal government appears to be making this up as it goes along.Will the foreign affairs minister rise in this House today and tell us why the Prime Minister is contradicting her chief negotiator?

Mr. Speaker, steelhead are in trouble. Specifically, Thompson and Chilcotin runs are in dire straits. Fisheries and conservation groups in British Columbia have called on the government to issue an emergency listing order under SARA and to investigate impacts of bycatch on steelhead runs. Those calls have largely gone unanswered. It is well past time the government listens to experts. Will the minister work with the British Columbia government to protect steelhead before it is too late?

Mr. Speaker, vulnerable Canadians deserve better. We have ministers going out of their way to attack those who truly need help. The revenue minister is targeting single moms and denying legitimate benefits. The Minister for Persons with Disabilities is refusing to help, and worse yet, belittling those who dare ask. Does the minister understand that Canadians who reach out to him for help do not expect to be attacked for simply asking for it?

Mr. Speaker, obviously the people opposite cannot explain the $1.2 billion that they cut from the security services of Canada. On the other hand, our government uses a variety of tools to combat terrorism, including the Global Coalition against Daesh, security investigations, surveillance, monitoring, intelligence gathering, lawful sharing, collection of evidence, criminal charges, criminal prosecutions, peace bonds, public listings, no-fly lists, hoisting of passports, authorized threat reduction measures, and preventive initiatives to head off tragedies in advance, wherever that is possible. It is a balanced approach that works relying on our security—

Mr. Speaker, I can reassure the member that the details will be known very shortly. I want to also remind the member that we will have lowered the small business tax rate from 11% to 9% by 2019, because we will always support small businesses. We will always stand behind small businesses. I can reassure the member that our intention has always been that the family business model can continue to prosper, and we will make sure that family members who work in a business can continue to do so and be remunerated for it. That is not the issue here.

Mr. Speaker, not only have the Liberals reduced advertising, but they seem to have reduced the comments period as well on small business tax changes.Yesterday, I was in New Brunswick and talked to local businesses in Mactaquac, Florenceville, and Woodstock. They want this House to know that they usually plan their business strategy a year in advance, and now they are faced with 25 days before the introduction of incredibly difficult and complex tax changes. A lot of them are already struggling this year as it is, and now they have this to worry about over the Christmas holidays. Will the Liberals provide the details today so that small businesses have a chance to plan?

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister, as is expected of all ministers and parliamentarians, has worked with the Ethics Commissioner. We have the utmost trust in the Ethics Commissioner to set the path forward for parliamentarians, which she has done with the Minister of Finance. When he arrived in Ottawa he followed all of her recommendations. He announced a few weeks ago that he would go above and beyond to dispose of all his shares in Morneau Shepell, place all of his assets in a blind trust, so he could continue to the work that he has been doing for two years for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that to mean there will not actually be a bill before the measures take effect. Our small family businesses will be forced to follow laws that do not even exist. How does the government expect anyone to run a business with rules that are written nowhere than in a press release, released the night before Christmas?

Mr. Speaker, the Netflix agreement is already dead and buried in the eyes of Quebeckers. It is over. Everyone, business people from the cultural sector, the National Assembly, everyday Quebeckers, everyone rejects this unfair tax break that Ottawa is giving the web giant.A poll released this morning shows that 72% of Quebeckers find the Netflix agreement unfair and 89% find that this agreement can no longer remain secret.The Minister of Canadian Heritage is delivering a major speech tomorrow in Montreal. All eyes will be on her. Everyone is expecting her to get things back on track.Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Minister of Finance stop passing the buck, admit that they made a mistake, and reconsider these unfair handouts?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to come back to the Auditor General's scathing report on the Canada Revenue Agency.According to that report, half of all calls Canadians make to the Canada Revenue Agency are not being answered, and when callers do get through, they get the wrong answer 30% of the time. The Canada Revenue Agency is proving just how incompetent it is, and the minister needs to face up to her responsibilities.When will the minister take this situation seriously and insist that the Canada Revenue Agency serve taxpayers properly?

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister says that he has done nothing wrong, but he continues to deflect and dodge questions. The Ethics Commissioner is looking into the sale of shares in his family's company just days before tax changes, he imposed, devalued those shares. He has been fined for hiding his offshore company. He has hid the fact that he was sheltering and controlling millions of shares in a numbered Alberta company.If he has done nothing wrong, why is the minister refusing to answer simple questions about his behaviour?