Debates of Sept. 14th, 2009

Question No. 319

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

With respect to performance bonuses paid by the government on an annual basis for the last four years: (a) which departments or Crown entities awarded such bonuses, to whom, in what amounts and on what dates; (b) who is eligible to receive such compensation, and what formula is used to determine the bonus; and (c) what is the government’s position on maintaining such bonuses?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 320

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

With respect to sole-source contracting over the last five years undertaken by, or on behalf of, each department or Crown agency: (a) what was the total amount of such contracting, on an annual basis; (b) what was the amount and duration of each contract, (i) who so authorized the contracts, (ii) which contracts were amended, (iii) how were they amended, and what justification was given for amending each contract; (c) in each instance where the value of the contract exceeded $25,000, what was the business case for doing so; and (d) what audits were undertaken in relation to any sole-sourced contracts, (i) what was the date, title, authorship and cost of each audit, (ii) which ones raised concerns over the value for money taxpayer received, (iii) what concerns were raised and what recommendations were made, (iv) did any result in criminal charges and, if so, (v) which ones?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 321

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

With regards to the performance of First Nations child welfare programs and services: (a) when does Indian and Northern Affairs Canada plan on conducting its next joint policy review of First Nations child welfare, in which federal child welfare funding is compared with provincial funding levels; (b) does the government, in exact figures, currently know how federal funding of child welfare currently compares to the funding levels of child welfare services and programs in the provinces, if yes, with which provinces has the government conducted comparisons and what are the exact numbers that describe the difference between federal and provincial funding levels; (c) what consultation has been done with First Nations and outside experts in establishing performance indicators for First Nations child welfare programs, if any consultation was done, with whom has the government consulted and what were the results of this consultation; (d) are there any plans on establishing or funding a central body to monitor and provide feedback to Indian and Northern Affairs Canada about the performance of child welfare programs; and (e) what plans does the government have to incorporate First Nations in the development of performance reports and the analysis of programs in order to provide a more complete perspective with greater transparency and accountability?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 325

[Bruce Hyer, NDP, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

With respect to the forestry sector funding announced in Budget 2009 for each of the following funds, (i) $80 million to FPInnovations for the Transformative Technologies program, (ii) $40 million to Natural Resources Canada for pilot-scale demonstration projects, (iii) $40 million to Canada Wood, Value to Wood, and North American Wood First programs for international marketing, (iv) $10 million to Natural Resources Canada to support large-scale demonstrations of wood for construction in off-shore markets: (a) how much of that money has already been allocated; (b) which organizations have received funds and what amounts have they received; (c) to what projects have funds been committed; and (d) what is the breakdown by federal riding for each of these funding commitments?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 330

[Shawn Murphy, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

With regard to the representation of federal departments and agencies in the provinces and territories, can the government provide the details regarding: (a) how many people are employed, both year round and on a seasonal basis, by Environment Canada in the province of Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.); (b) how many of the P.E.I. Environment Canada employees are stationed in the federal riding of Charlottetown; (c) the job description of each Environment Canada position held in P.E.I.; (d) the length of term for each Environment Canada position held in P.E.I.; and (e) how much federal funding the P.E.I. branch of Environment Canada will receive during this fiscal year 2009-2010?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 331

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

With respect to genocide: (a) does the government define the term according to the 1951 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; (b) how does the government qualify and quantify “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” (e.g. is there a critical threshold that must be surpassed in terms of numbers of people killed, extent of physical destruction), and how does the government distinguish among domestic conflict, genocide and war; (c) what are the government’s legal and ethical responsibilities to intervene and protect as a signatory to the 1951 Convention; (d) what is the decision-making process that the government takes in determining whether killing is genocide or not, whether Canada takes action or not, and what possible action might look like; (e) how does the government ensure that it does not use the wording of the convention, namely the lack of numbers of dead or displaced to constitute genocide, to avoid enforcing it; (f) does the government have any measures in place to ensure that national sovereignty is not used as an excuse to prevent Canada from enforcing United Nations regulations; (g) what is the decision-making process that ensures that Canada has multiple viewpoints before making a decision on a possible genocide, and does not just take the viewpoint of a main party while ignoring the opposing side and third-parties; (h) has the government examined past genocides, and identified early warnings, where Canada might have taken action earlier, what the savings would have been in terms of human life, society, and the economy, and how such lessons might be applied to current conflicts, such as Pakistan and Sudan; (i) what factors has the government identified as potentially leading to genocide, and has it developed an early-warning system or response centre / institution; (j) what specific tactics has the government established to stop genocide; (k) does the government have a special representative for genocide prevention, as well as access to people who are experts in genocide early warning and, if so, to what departments do they belong, and do they have sufficient funding to properly do their jobs; and (l) what legislation is in place to allow Canada to take action, and to hold aggressors to account?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 332

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

With respect to Sri Lanka, what is the government doing: (a) to accelerate the processing of visas and refugee claims for those living in refugee camps, and specifically, how many applications have been made, and how many processed; (b) to help Canadian citizens of Tamil heritage locate their family members; (c) to increase humanitarian assistance and medical aid to those living in refugee camps, and specifically, how much aid is being sent, in what form, how is it being tracked, and how is delivery ensured for those in need; (d) to assure full access to the camps by the international community and journalists; (e) to ensure a comprehensive effort at national reconciliation with full recognition of the rights of all communities and respect for the rule of law; and (f) to determine whether there is classification, dehumanization, or extermination of the Tamil people?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 333

[Gurbax Malhi, Liberal, Bramalea—Gore—Malton, ON]

With respect to the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, what has been the total departmental spending on citizenship courts, divided by line item, for each of the last ten fiscal years (i) nationally, (ii) in each province and territory, and (iii) in each of Mississauga, Toronto and Ottawa, Ontario, Québec City and Montréal, Quebec, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan, Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta, Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 334

[Gurbax Malhi, Liberal, Bramalea—Gore—Malton, ON]

With respect to the Department of Citizenship and Immigration: (a) what has been the average total processing time for applications for Permanent Residents and Canadian citizenship submitted in each of the last ten fiscal years (i) nationally, (ii) in each province and territory, (iii) in each of Mississauga, Toronto and Ottawa, Ontario, Québec City and Montréal, Quebec, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan, Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta, and Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia; and (b) what has been the total backlog of applications for Canadian citizenship in each of the last ten fiscal years (i) nationally, (ii) in each province and territory, (iii) in each of Mississauga, Toronto and Ottawa, Ontario, Québec City and Montréal, Quebec, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan, Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta, and Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 335

[Gurbax Malhi, Liberal, Bramalea—Gore—Malton, ON]

With regard to temporary residence visas (visitor visas): (a) in each year during the period of 1986 to 2009, for each Canadian High Commission, Embassy, and Consulate around the world, what was the number of visitor visa applications (i) submitted in each year during the period, (ii) approved each year during the period, (iii) refused each year during the period and the reasons given for each refusal; (b) what regulations are in place with respect to compassionate considerations for visitor visa applicants; and (c) in each year during the period of 1986 to 2009, for each Canadian High Commission, Embassy, and Consulate around the world, what was the total amount of revenue collected from (i) all visitor visa applicants, (ii) applicants whose visitor visa applications were refused?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 336

[Gurbax Malhi, Liberal, Bramalea—Gore—Malton, ON]

What was the total federal spending from Industry Canada in the riding of Bramalea—Gore—Malton during each fiscal year from 2004-2005 to 2007-2008, itemized according to: (a) the date the money was received in the riding; (b) the dollar amount of the expenditure; (c) the federal program from which the funding came; (d) the department responsible for allocation of the funding; and (e) the recipient of the funding?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 338

[Glen Pearson, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

Given that Canadian International Development Agency’s (CIDA) commitment to fulfill the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to global poverty reduction, based on the CIDA Report on Plans and Priorities 2009-2010: (a) how is CIDA contributing to the fulfillment of MDGs 4 and 5; (b) what specific CIDA programs have been instituted to address MDGs 4 and 5; and (c) how much spending has been allocated by CIDA to these specific programs and to the overall attainment of these goals?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 339

[Glen Pearson, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

With regards to the implementation of Bill C-293, An Act respecting the provision of official development assistance abroad, which received Royal Assent in May 2008 and which states that for each Official Development Assistance (ODA) disbursement, the responsible Minister must be of the opinion that this disbursement meets three simultaneous tests including, contributing to poverty reduction, taking into account the perspectives of the poor and is being consistent with international human rights standards: (a) what is the process by which this legislation has been applied to current Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) programming; (b) how was this legislation addressed in terms of CIDA’s rationale for removal of six African countries from its list of focus; (c) how has the application process for CIDA funding been changed to reflect the provisions of this legislation; (d) how have program reporting mechanisms been changed to reflect the provisions of this legislation; (e) how have the provisions of this legislation been adapted as criteria for multi-lateral funding; and (f) how has the agency educated CIDA employees on the provisions of this legislation?