With respect to military equipment procured for use in Afghanistan in the last fiscal year: (a) what is the total figure for such procurement; (b) what were the top 20 items or expenditures, listed by amount; (c) how many contracts were sole-sourced; (d) of the total procurement during this period, what percentage of contracts were sole-sourced; (e) which contracts were so awarded, to which companies and on what date; (f) what was the value of each contract; (g) what criteria are used in awarding each of these sole-sourced contracts; (h) how many military contracts were awarded by Public Works and Government Services Canada on behalf of the Department of National Defence using Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) in the tendering process; (i) was ACAN invoked to award contracts on behalf of other government departments for non-military equipment in the last year and, if so, on behalf of which departments, on what dates and with respect to which contracts; (j) on an annual basis, since fiscal year 2001, how many times was ACAN used in the tendering of military contracts; and (k) which contracts were so awarded, to which companies, on what date and what was the value of each contract?

Question No. 251Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam B.C.

Conservative

James Moore ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics

Mr. Speaker, Public Works Government Services Canada’s reporting system, acquisition information system, does not specifically identify military equipment procured for use in Afghanistan.

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre Saskatchewan

Conservative

Tom Lukiwski ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform

Mr. Speaker, if Questions Nos. 247, 248, 252 and 253 could be made orders for returns, these returns would be tabled immediately.

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

Is that agreed?

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Question No. 247Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

NDP

Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC

With respect to the purchase, either by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) for departments, agencies and Crown corporations, or by the individual departments, agencies and Crown corporations, in the fiscal years 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007 and 2007-2008, of (i) media and public relations training, (ii) public opinion research, (iii) promotional materials related to press conferences only, (iv) hairstylists and estheticians, (v) spas and suntanning salons, (vi) sporting events, (vii) dry cleaning, (viii) taxis, (ix) retreats at resorts or conference centres: (a) by department, agency or Crown corporation, how many items or services in each category were purchased; (b) what was the total cost spent by either PWGSC or another department, agency or Crown corporation on each category; and (c) with respect to media training, what was the date and cost of each contract and who was the recipient of the training?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 248Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

NDP

Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC

With respect to the purchase, either by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) for departments, agencies and Crown corporations, or by the individual departments, agencies and Crown corporations, in the fiscal years 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 of (i) pencil cases and knapsacks, (ii) televisions, (iii) flowers, (iv) carbon off-set credits for air travel, (v) microwaves, (vi) flatware, (vii) wine glasses, (viii) cameras, both regular and digital, (ix) golf balls and tees, (x) business ties, (xi) candies, (xii) alcoholic beverages, (xiii) jams, jellies and preserves, (xiv) land mines and clusterbombs, (xv) games, toys and wheeled goods, (xvi) DVDs and CDs, (xvii) perfumes, toilet preparations and powders, (xviii) clothes and footwear for ministers of the Crown and their staff, (xix) iPods or similar devices, (xx) hockey sticks and other sporting goods, (xxi) Tim Hortons coupons: (a) by department, agency or Crown corporation, how many in each category were purchased; and (b) what was the total cost spent by either PWGSC or another department, agency or Crown corporation on each category?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 252Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

NDP

Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON

With respect to financial contributions made to individuals, researchers, journalists, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions with respect to the Afghan mission over the last five years: (a) what individuals or entities have received government money to attend, organize or speak at public fora, such as conferences, seminars, or media outlets about Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan; (b) where and on what date did these events take place; (c) what individuals or entities have received government money to publish books or academic articles about Canada’s mission in Afghanistan; (d) what are the titles and publication dates of these publications; (e) what is the total amount spent, broken down by individual or institution, by year; (f) what are the terms of reference for each contract; (g) which departments awarded these contributions; (h) with specific reference to the Peace Dividend Trust (PDT), what financial commitments have been made by the government to this organization or its representatives; and (i) what services or deliverables has PDT performed for the government?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 253Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

NDP

Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON

With regard to the government’s development and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan: (a) what are the proposed locations and start dates of each development project, including Provincial Reconstruction Teams, designed or implemented by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade or the Department of National Defence in Afghanistan since 2001; (b) what was the actual start date and location of each project; (c) what amount of funding has been allocated to each project to date, in actual amounts and percentage; (d) what were the deliverables of each project and what percentage of them, by project, has been attained to date; (e) how many evaluations or audit reports have been prepared by the government, or contracted to private consultants, on the development of projects in Afghanistan since 2001; (f) what are the dates of publication, titles and authors of each of these evaluations or reports; (g) of these reports, how many were done by independent assessors hired by government departments; (h) if carried out by private consultants, who were the principal investigators and what were the costs of each contract; (i) how many government employees, excluding Canadian Forces personnel, have been working on the government's development and reconstruction efforts in Kandahar province and which departments have they represented, on an annual basis, since January 2002; (j) how many of these government employees have been stationed in Kabul; (k) what amount of Canadian aid and reconstruction funds earmarked for Afghanistan under the discretion of Canadian officials, or directed to bilateral or multilateral projects, is estimated to have been lost, in dollar amount and in percentage terms, on an annual basis since 2002; (l) has the government attributed any of this lost money to corruption and, if so, what entities or personalities are believed to be responsible; and (m) how does the estimated amount of lost money compare to the money lost in CIDA-funded projects in sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia?