Karen Redman on *Question No. 66

With respect to (a) the 1998 AIDA program received over 52,000 applications and approximately $688.3 million was paid out. The breakdown by province appears below. The 1999 AIDA program received over 51,000 applications and approximately $900.6 million was paid out. The breakdown by province appears below. To date, 1999 AIDA payments have been made at 95% of the federal share. Producers will soon receive their remaining portion of funds available for the 1999 AIDA program. In order to keep administrative costs to a minimum, AIDA was delivered through existing administrative processes in provinces where the Government of Canada did not administer the program. With respect to (b) the total national administrative expenses for the 1998 AIDA program were $33.7 million. The total national administrative expenses for the 1999 AIDA program were $54.2 million.