Question in the House of Commons, May 3rd, on environment and charities
Mr. Hoang Mai (Brossard—La Prairie, NDP): Mr. Speaker, budgets are used to set priorities, and the Conservatives' priority is to waste millions of dollars harassing foundations while cutting the budgets for tax fraud investigations and the RCMP's proceeds of crime program.
The RCMP estimates that $5 billion to $15 billion is laundered in Canada each year by real criminals, not environmentalists.
When will this government stop attacking those who disagree with it and target the real criminals?
Hon. Peter Kent (Minister of the Environment, CPC): Mr. Speaker, almost everything my hon. colleague said is absolutely wrong. As I said, there have been allegations of inappropriate channelling of foreign funds through Canadian organizations that have charitable status. I am glad we caught the attention of the opposition, the general public and the charitable agencies so they can examine their practices and ensure they conform with their charitable status.
