Correct.
Evidence of meeting #37 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was summit.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #37 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was summit.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Program Operations Branch, Infrastructure Canada
Correct.
9:05 a.m.
Liberal
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
—legacy projects were developed. I'm just concerned, because some of them are almost 100 kilometres away, an hour's drive away from the site itself. So how inconvenient could it have been for somebody in Parry Sound or Sundridge? Sundridge got a new bandstand, for example, a new bandshell.
9:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Program Operations Branch, Infrastructure Canada
Yes. I think you have to also bear in mind that when the G-8 legacy fund was established, the G-20 was not being held in Toronto at that point in time. This fund was specifically set up to support the G-8 summit. So there was no—
9:05 a.m.
Liberal
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
Okay. So it's supporting the G-8. In Baysville, for example, which is 32 kilometres away from the summit site, at a cost of $300,000, you put in new washrooms—
9:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Program Operations Branch, Infrastructure Canada
Yes.
9:05 a.m.
Liberal
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
—to support the summit site. I don't know if anyone from the G-8 actually used the washrooms in Baysville, as nice as they might have been.
9:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Program Operations Branch, Infrastructure Canada
Again, it's not meant specifically to support the leaders and their delegations. This is very much a legacy to the region. These are all locally identified priorities from the municipalities.
9:05 a.m.
Liberal
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
So it's a legacy project to support the G-8, but it had nothing to do with the G-8, and you've just established that.
How are the decisions made around this, then? Who decided, or how was it decided, that a bathroom 32 kilometres away or a bandstand 47 kilometres away were part of the legacy projects that were required for the G-8? They're all in the minister's riding.
9:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Program Operations Branch, Infrastructure Canada
Local municipalities identified these projects as priorities.
9:05 a.m.
Liberal
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
So local municipalities.... That wasn't the question. The question was how could they relate to the G-8? This is additional money that was flowing into the minister's riding. It was a tremendous amount of money that you put in, tens of millions into these projects.
November 18th, 2010 / 9:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Program Operations Branch, Infrastructure Canada
Yes. We also put money into the G-8 summit centre and the rehabilitation of the North Bay airport, which was at the time supposed to be the primary landing area for the G-8 leaders. It was only after the G-20 summit was moved to Toronto that this changed.
9:05 a.m.
Liberal
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
Was the minister's office involved in any of these discussions as well, as to whether or not the funding got into Huntsville, Parry Sound, Sundridge, or any of those areas?
9:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Program Operations Branch, Infrastructure Canada
Yes, I'm sure they were.
9:10 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Program Operations Branch, Infrastructure Canada
Infrastructure Canada's role in these projects was to review the projects vis-à-vis the terms and conditions of the program to ensure that the costs of the projects were eligible under the terms and conditions of the program and that the costs that were deemed part of each project were eligible for reimbursement.
9:10 a.m.
Liberal
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
So in Tony Clement's riding, there was an extra $46 million in addition to any other infrastructure spending and funding and any other economic action plan. There was an additional $46 million put into various and widespread areas around the riding that ultimately his department would have had some impact on deciding where they went.
9:10 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Program Operations Branch, Infrastructure Canada
Sorry, his department, Industry Canada?
9:10 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Program Operations Branch, Infrastructure Canada
I defer to my colleagues from Industry Canada in that regard.
9:10 a.m.
Liberal
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
But you just said the minister's office would have been involved, right?
9:10 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Program Operations Branch, Infrastructure Canada
Minister Clement would have worked with local stakeholders and municipalities. The question as to what his role was is a question that's best directed to him, not to me.
9:10 a.m.
Liberal
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
Time is limited, and I don't know how much time I have left.
9:10 a.m.
Liberal
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
I just want to ask DFAIT a couple of questions, if I may.
There is another thing that I find a little challenging. DFAIT bought a pretty fancy set of china for 24 people, dining room place settings. The place settings were $11,000 and glass charges were an additional $6,000. There were frosted glasses. It was a pretty fancy set of cutlery, and I'm sure there had to be silverware involved in this. What became of this set of china? Why did we actually need to buy a new set of china for 24? Wasn't this held at a Deerhurst resort? Wouldn't they have quality tableware?
9:10 a.m.
Director General, Programs, Summits Management Office, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Mr. Chair, I can answer that question. It was not china that was purchased. It was pottery from Lindgren Pottery, which is based in Muskoka. We did not have, and neither did the resort, a set that was appropriate for that number of people in order to serve them for all the official meals. The amount of--
