Debates of May 10th, 2023

Public Transit

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise to present a petition expressing concerns of many constituents about the lack of adequate public transportation across Canada. As the Federation of Canadian Municipalities has pointed out, in the transition to zero emissions, public transit helps Canadians meet the Paris targets. It also notes that the lack of public transit is particularly acute between communities.

The petitioners, citizens and residents of Canada, call for the House of Commons to establish a permanent federal funding mechanism for public transit; work together with all levels of government to provide sustainable, predictable and adequate funding; and have accountability mechanisms to ensure that different orders of government work together, collaboratively and effectively.

Air Transportation

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this is yet another petition, similar to petitions I have submitted before, looking at encouraging airlines and governments, all people, including the Winnipeg international airport, to have a direct flight from the city of Winnipeg to a place such as Amritsar, India, at the very least.

With the growth of our Indo-Canadian community, I believe, as many believe, that the need to have additional international flights going from Canada to Europe is of the utmost importance. Hopefully, we will get a response coming not only from parliamentarians but also from other vested groups such as our airlines.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 1344, 1346, 1348, 1350, 1353 and 1355.

Question No.1344—

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

With regard to the $1,000 processing fee charged to employers for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA): (a) what is the breakdown of activities funded by this fee, broken down by the actual cost and the proportion of the fee; (b) what was the total amount of fees collected or projected to be collected by the government for the (i) 2022-23, (ii) 2023-24, fiscal year; (c) how is the government projected to spend the amounts collected in (b); and (d) is a portion of the fee used for measures other than directly recouping costs associated with the LMIA, and, if so, what is the portion and what is it used for?

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), ESDC activities relating to the temporary foreign worker, TFW, program are funded not through fee revenues, but through voted appropriations, for which the government must seek Parliament’s approval annually through an appropriation act.

Labour market impact assessment, LMIA, fee collections constitute non-respendable revenues, which are returned to the government’s consolidated revenue fund. The LMIA fee is intended to help recoup costs associated with the administration of the TFW program. This includes activities related to processing of LMIA applications, as well as program compliance-related costs intended to ensure employers are abiding by program rules and temporary foreign workers are protected while in Canada.

There are fee exemptions set out for certain LMIA applications, most notably, those made under the program’s primary agriculture stream. Positions in primary agriculture are exempt, given the industry’s long-standing domestic labour supply challenges and the potential downstream effects on national food security. As a result, the LMIA fee, which is exempt from the Services Fee Act, helps the TFW program operate on a partial cost-recovery basis.

With regard to part (b), as per ESDC’s 2023-24 departmental plan, specifically its consolidated future-oriented statement of operations, unaudited, for the year ending March 31, 2024, the total amount of fees projected to be collected is $129,288,000 for 2022-23 and $133,338,000 for 2023-24.

Revenue forecasts may not ultimately align with actuals. Program revenues are dependent on program volumes, i.e., LMIA applications, which are dependent on labour market trends, i.e., employer demand for temporary foreign workers. Historical indicators are leveraged in forecasting program volumes/revenues. However, given the evolving nature of the labour market and the difficulty in forecasting labour market shocks, i.e., COVID-19, actuals may differ from forecasts.

With regard to part (c), LMIA fee collections constitute non-respendable revenues, meaning that the TFW program does not have the authority to spend fee collections. Fee revenues are deposited directly into the government’s consolidated revenue fund.

With regard to part (d), the LMIA fee only serves to recoup costs associated with the TFW program, including activities related to processing of LMIA applications and program compliance-related costs, e.g., employer inspections. Costs unrelated to the administration of the TFW program are not recouped via the LMIA fee.

Question No.1346—

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

With regard to Transport Canada (TC), the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) and air travel: (a) what are the top 10 risks identified in 2023 as they relate to (i) airline safety, (ii) passenger delays, (iii) the smooth operation of airports; (b) what steps is TC taking to mitigate each risk identified in (a); (c) what is the role of (i) the CTA, (ii) TC, in ensuring that air traffic delays are correctly reported to air traffic control towers; (d) how many and what percentage of total flight delays were reported due to (i) mechanical issues, (ii) air traffic congestion, (iii) weather conditions, (iv) other issues, broken down by year for each of the last five years; (e) what are the specific steps taken by either TC or the CTA to (i) reduce flight delays, (ii) increase flight delay transparency, (iii) invest in improved flight reporting technologies; (f) how many delays were reported in compliance with Annex 15 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation — Aeronautical Information Services in each of the last five years, and, of those delays, how many were due to (i) weather, (ii) shortages of air traffic controllers, (iii) airline maintenance, (iv) supply chain blockages; (g) how does TC ensure the (i) safe, (ii) efficient, (iii) transparent, reporting of flight information between air traffic controllers and Nav Canada; (h) what measures has TC implemented to improve coordination and communication between air traffic controllers and airlines when flight delays are caused by (i) adverse weather conditions, (ii) equipment failures, (iii) labour shortages, (iv) labour disputes; (i) how does TC hold Nav Canada accountable when flight delays, runway safety or shortages impact safety and passenger experience; and (j) what steps has the CTA taken to ensure compliance with the Canadian Aviation Regulations and international aviation regulations in reporting of flight delays caused by (i) runway maintenance, (ii) air traffic congestion, (iii) security incidents at airports?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, Transport Canada undertook to respond to the question in the time frame allotted. The department concluded that producing and validating a comprehensive response to this question is not possible in the time allotted and could lead to the disclosure of incomplete and misleading information.

With regard to part (j), the Canadian Transportation Agency has a mandate to keep the national transportation system running efficiently and smoothly for all Canadians. The agency makes air regulations and consults the air industry, the Canadian public and consumer organizations about this work.

The agency’s air activities include the following: providing licences and charter permits needed to operate an airline in Canada; making sure airline tariffs are reasonable and follow rules and international agreements; providing consumer protection for air passengers and helping to resolve air travel complaints; removing undue obstacles to the mobility of persons with disabilities when travelling by air; and helping to negotiate and put in place international air transport agreements.

The agency’s air mandate does not include reporting on flight delays as they relate to runway maintenance, air traffic congestion or security incidents at airports.

Question No.1348—

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

With regard to financial incentives provided by the government to Volkswagen to entice the company to open a battery cell plant in St. Thomas, Ontario: what are the details, including the total value, broken down by type of incentive (grants, tax deferrals, loans, etc.)?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, as the industry pivots towards electric vehicles, anchoring these firms in Canada is critical to the Canadian economy and ensuring a resilient domestic supply chain. This is why the government has committed to making strong investments in this area. As a result, Volkswagen is investing $7 billion to establish its first overseas electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in St. Thomas, Ontario. The plant, Volkswagen’s largest to date, will create up to 3,000 direct jobs and tens of thousands more in indirect jobs. Once complete in 2027, the plant will produce batteries for up to one million electric vehicles per year, bolstering Canada’s domestic battery manufacturing capacity to meet the demand for electric vehicles now and into the future.

Canada is deepening its investments in EV batteries to position itself as a global leader, with Volkswagen as an important player in the production of EV batteries and supporting the development of a sustainable domestic battery manufacturing sector in Canada.

The Government of Canada will contribute $700 million from the strategic innovation fund to help PowerCo build a net-zero lithium battery assembling plant in St. Thomas, Ontario. The Province of Ontario is likewise supporting the investment to establish this greenfield assembly plant with $500 million in direct incentives.

In addition, the Government of Canada has committed to providing PowerCo with a production incentive, matching that for which it would be eligible in the U.S. under the Inflation Reduction Act’s advanced manufacturing production credit. Consistent with the U.S. incentive, Canada’s support will be for those battery cells produced and sold and will phase out by 25 percentage points every year beginning in 2030. After 2032, the credit would be eliminated. The agreement also has the flexibility to be adjusted should the U.S. advanced manufacturing production credit change over time.

Question No.1350—

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

With regard to the allegations related to the member from Don Valley North contained in the Global News reports of February 24, 2023: did anyone from the Office of the Prime Minister request briefings about the allegations, and, if so, for each briefing, (i) who provided it, (ii) who received it, (iii) what was the date on which it occurred?

[Greg Fergus, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the President of the Treasury Board)]

Mr. Speaker, on April 14, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs received a response from the national security and intelligence adviser that details formal briefings to the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister’s Office, ministers and cabinet on the subject of foreign interference in elections.

Question No.1353—

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

With regard to the government's stated goals on electric vehicle chargers in Canada, since November 4, 2015: (a) how much funding has the government invested in installing electric vehicle chargers, broken down by the (i) project, (ii) recipient company or organisation, (iii) year, (iv) location, (v) government entity providing the funding; (b) how many chargers have been installed with these funds, broken down by the (i) project, (ii) recipient company or organisation, (iii) year, (iv) location, (v) federal government entity providing the funding; and (c) of the chargers in (b), where were they manufactured or shipped from, and what is the carbon footprint of each installed charger?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, since 2016, to help expand Canada’s electric vehicle, EV, charging network to the scale required, the federal government continues to invest in charging infrastructure through NRCan’s electric vehicle and alternative fuel infrastructure deployment initiative, EVAFIDI. For details, please see https://natural-resources.canada.ca/energy-efficiency/transportation-alternative-fuels/electric-and-alternative-fuel-infrastructure/electric-vehicle-alternative-fuels-infrastructure-deployment-initiative/18352. It provided funding to organizations to help establish a coast-to-coast network of EV fast chargers along core routes and highways through NRCan’s zero emission vehicle infrastructure program, ZEVIP. For details, please see https://natural-resources.canada.ca/energy-efficiency/transportation-alternative-fuels/zero-emission-vehicle-infrastructure-program/21876. It provides funding to increase the availability of local charging options where Canadians live, work and play, in public places, on street, and in multi-unit residential buildings, workplaces and vehicle fleets. The Canada Infrastructure Bank, CIB, will be investing $500 million in large-scale charging and refuelling infrastructure that is revenue generating and in the public interest.

The charging investments fit in the greater, comprehensive approach of the Government of Canada to support this ZEV transition. For more on Canada’s action plan for clean on-road transportation, visit https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/publications/canada-s-action-plan-clean-road-transportation#_Toc117001122.

As part of NRCan’s efforts to support open data, we have created openly available maps with our latest information on open or nearly open projects, which can be found at https://gcgeo.gc.ca/viz/index-en.html?keys=draft-706a6d1a-df8e-40e3-8e0c-94211025c528.

Information pertaining to parts (a) and (b) can be found at this link. The fuel type “L2” refers to slow chargers and “L3” refers to fast chargers. The range of speeds of the latter are indicated as being between 50 and 99 kilowatts, kW. These figures are for projects that are already installed or in the very late stages of project completion. They represent 12,153 stations installed or soon to be installed, totalling over $183 million invested by the federal programs to date. Program officials have given the initial commitment for more chargers, although details are still being finalized. Including this latter category, the government has committed to 34,666 chargers and funding of over $277 million.

With regard to part (c), the programs are brand neutral and do not track charging station manufacturers associated with each project. The programs conform with international trade obligations and so do not prejudice against origin of manufacturing. Information on the carbon footprint of charging station manufacturing is not tracked.

Question No.1355—

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

With regard to the $1.3 million government investment in Net Zero Atlantic for the Community Geothermal Resource Capacity Assessment and Training Program (GeoCAT): (a) how many geothermal energy infrastructure projects are expected to directly benefit from these funds; (b) what percentage of these funds will be used for engagement and relationship building with Nova Scotia communities to create and deliver the community-tailored geothermal opportunity information modules; (c) what percentage of these funds will be used to deliver a geothermal project development information module to provide the community with a roadmap to potential project development; and (d) what percentage of these funds will be used for other project components?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the GeoCAT program supports the transfer of geothermal project development knowledge to local indigenous groups and community representatives, who in turn will assess community-specific infrastructure and interest for geothermal project development. Given the program provides capacity-building funding, benefits to geothermal energy projects will be indirect.

Based on the program description, 50% of the funding will support awareness of community geothermal opportunities and 50% will support the development and delivery of training modules to acquire skills and tools to lead or advance community development opportunities. No funds will be used for other project components.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, if the government's responses to Questions Nos 1343, 1345, 1347, 1349, 1351, 1352 and 1354 could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled immediately.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Question No.1343—

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

With regard to government advertising on television and radio since January 1, 2022, broken down by department or agency: what are the details of all such advertisements, including the (i) type of advertisement (tv, radio, or both), (ii) title and description of the message, (iii) purpose, (iv) amount spent on running the advertisement, (v) start and end dates of when the advertisement ran?

(Return tabled)

Question No.1345—

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

With regard to the government's use of artificial intelligence (AI): (a) which government departments and agencies have used AI; (b) for each entity in (a), what are the specific uses of the technology; (c) has (i) the Department of National Defence, (ii) Public Safety Canada, (iii) the RCMP, (iv) CSIS, (v) the Communications Security Establishment, (vi) Global Affairs Canada, (vii) the Canadian Armed Forces, ever used AI to gather information on Canadians, and, if so, how many times has AI been used in the last five years and how was it used; (d) for each entity in (c), what specific privacy policies and protocols are employed before using AI; (e) in the last five years, how many incidents of inappropriate use of AI by any government entity have occurred, including the date of the incident and what happened; (f) is the government aware of any foreign governments or state-owned entities using AI on Canadians in the last five years, and, if so, what are the details of all such incidents, including (i) the date, (ii) the name of the government or entity, (iii) how AI was used; and (g) what specific actions, if any, is the government taking to protect Canadians from the harmful application of AI by (i) government entities, (ii) foreign entities?

(Return tabled)

Question No.1347—

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

With regard to the items listed in the Supplementary Estimates (C), 2022-23, under Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs: what is the detailed breakdown of the $18,954,772 listed under "Funding for the stabilization of internal services", including how the funds were used and the specific details of each project funded with the money, broken down by the amount spent on the project?

(Return tabled)

Question No.1349—

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

With regard to the sale of federal properties since December 1, 2021: (a) what are the details of the properties sold, including, for each, the (i) province or territory, (ii) city, (iii) street address, (iv) type of listing (residential, office, etc.), (v) description of property, (vi) sale price, if different than the asking price, (vii) buyer, (viii) future use of the property, if known, (ix) date of sale; (b) for each sale in (a), what were the costs incurred by the government related to the sale, broken down by type of expense; and (c) for each sale in (a), how did the government reinvest the net profits?