Debates of Sept. 14th, 2009

(Return tabled)

Question No. 265

[Chris Charlton, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

What is the total amount of government funding, since fiscal year 2004-2005 up to and including the current fiscal year, allocated within the constituency of Hamilton Mountain, listing each department or agency, initiative, and amount?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 267

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

What is the total amount of government funding, since fiscal year 2004-2005 up to and including the current fiscal year, allocated within the constituency of Windsor West, listing each department or agency, initiative, and amount?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 268

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

With regard to the Shiprider Project: (a) at what stage are the negotiations with the United States; (b) is there a deadline for the signing of the permanent agreement and, if so, what is it; (c) on what date did the discussions about this project begin and by whom were they initiated; (d) which Canadian government departments or agencies, and which officials have participated in the negotiations; (e) which United States government departments or agencies and officials have participated in the negotiations; (f) were other stakeholders consulted and, if so, who; (g) when did these consultations occur and what was discussed; (h) what is the mandate of this project; (i) what are the rules under which this project operates; (j) which government departments are funding this project, both here and in the United States; (k) what is the total dollar amount spent by the government on this project since its inception, broken down by year; (l) what is the total dollar amount spent on this project since its inception, broken down by year; (m) which government departments will operate and fund this project should it become permanent, both in Canada and the United States; (n)what is the total anticipated cost of this project should it become permanent; (o) how much of that anticipated cost is being covered by the Canadian government and how much will be covered by the American government; (p) how many Canadian vessels and how many American Coast guard vessels are participating in this project currently; (q) how many Canadian vessels and how many American Coast Guard vessels will participate when and if this project becomes permanent; and (r) what precautions have been taken to ensure that Canadian sovereignty is not violated?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 269

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

With regard to the ministerial directions provided to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS): (a) what are the new operational guidelines provided to CSIS; (b) when were they provided and when did they come into force; (c) how did they amend the previous CSIS guidelines; (d) why was a revision of the guidelines initiated and when was it initiated; (e)who was consulted in the revision of the guidelines and when; (f) do the new guidelines address the concerns raised about CSIS’ operations and procedures in both the O’Connor and Iacobucci inquiries and how; (g) do the revised guidelines address the issue of information sharing, and how; (h) do the guidelines specifically address the issue of information sharing with countries that have questionable human rights records or are known to use torture, and how; (i) do the revised guidelines specifically address the issue of labelling, and how; (j) will there be a mandatory review of the revised guidelines to ensure that they have effectively responded to concerns raised by the O’Connor and Iacobucci inquiries, and if so, when; and (k) what are the government’s intelligence priorities for 2008-2009, as outlined in the new guidelines, and what are the government’s intelligence priorities for 2009-2010?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 270

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

With respect to the government’s policy of arming Canada’s border guards; (a) how many border guards are currently armed, broken down by region and border crossing; (b) how many border guards still remain to be armed; (c) what is the government’s current schedule for the training and arming of the remaining border guards, from the present until the scheduled date of completion; (d) has the schedule been amended and, if so, how, when and why; (e) what is methodology is being used to determine the order in which border guards are armed; (f) what is the current budgeted cost of arming border guards; (g) has this amount changed and, if so, why, when and by how much; (h) what is the detailed breakdown of money spent to implement this policy, broken down yearly, to date; (i) what is the total dollar amount budgeted for this project since its inception, broken down by year, from now until completion; (j) which department or agency is supplying the funds for the arming of border guards; (k) who did the government consult before initiating the arming policy, and when; (l) are these consultations on-going as this policy is rolled out and, if so, at what point do the consultations occur and how are they conducted; (m) was the government provided with advice or studies to support their claim that the arming of border guards will improve border security and, if so, by whom and how were their conclusions reached; (n) was the government provided with any advice or studies that did not support their claim that the arming of border guards will improve border security and, if so, by whom and how were those conclusions reached; (o) was the government provided with advice or studies that recommended other policies as more effective at improving border security, and if so, by whom where they provided, what were they, how were their conclusions reached and, what were their detailed cost breakdown; (p) what is the government doing with border guards who do not wish to be trained to carry a gun or who do not have the competency to do so; (q) what is the detailed cost to the government, broken down annually, of accommodating those guards; (r) what is the current pay scale of an unarmed guard as compared to an armed guard; (s) how many times have armed border guards had to upholster their guns to date, how many time have they had to fire their gun, and what were the circumstances surrounding each situation; and (t) is the government considering extending the arming policy to include national park wardens and, if so, when will that occur and what is the detailed cost of this policy?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 271

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

With respect to proposed provisions contained in bills C-2, C-14 and C-15: (a) has the government done a detailed cost analysis for these bills and, if so, please provide it; (b) what is the projected growth rate of inmates in our federal correctional institutions over the next five years, broken down yearly, and are costs associated with proposed provisions contained in these bills factored into that calculation; (c) what is the government’s plan to ensure that our corrections facilities can accommodate the additional surge of inmates resulting from the changes that these bills would bring; (d) what funds have been spent on corrections infrastructure, annually, since 2006; (e) what funds are being allocated to address corrections infrastructure over the next five years, broken down annually; (f) what funds have been spent on programming for inmates in federal corrections institutions, broken down by program, annually, since 1993; (g) what funds are earmarked to be spent on programming for inmates in federal corrections institutions, broken down by program, annually, for the next five years? (h) did the government consult with the provincial and territorial governments before bringing forward these bills and, if so, (i) when did the consultations occur, (ii) what form did the consultations take; (i) will the government be providing funding to the provinces and territories to help them pay for the additional costs being placed on their correctional institutions and, if so how much, and when can they expect to access the funding; and (j) what are the government’s plans for the land that is currently used by the Prison Farm Program, and will it be used to accommodate the growing number of inmates in our federal institutions and how?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 274

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

What is the total amount of government funding, since fiscal year 2004-2005 up to and including the current fiscal year, allocated within the constituency of Timmins—James Bay, listing each department or agency, initiative, and amount?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 275

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

With regard to the Agency for Status of Women Action Plan: (a) what individuals, organizations and government bodies have been consulted; (b) what individuals, organizations and government bodies are still to be consulted for the development of the Action Plan; (c) what mediums are used for the consultations and are they written, in person, by video conference or any other mean; (d) is the Minister of State meeting with consultation participants in every province and territory; and (e) were there guidelines or criteria developed for consultation and, if so, what were they?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 276

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

With regard to Military Resource Centres: (a) how many are there across Canada; (b) where are they located; (c) how many staff are employed in each centre; (d) what are the programs listed in each centre; (e) how many early learning and child care spaces are available in each centre; (f) how many children occupy those spaces; (g) how many children are on the wait list; and (h) what is the criteria to access spaces available?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 278

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

With regards to the proposed changes to the Food Mail Program: (a) how will the expenditures specifically be used to improve the program’s efficiency; (b) how are the elimination of personal orders and the reduction of small retail orders expected to improve the program’s effectiveness; (c) how will the elimination of personal orders and a reliance on large retailers impact those people with specific dietary and health needs; (d) how does the government plan on fulfilling its duties to consult with both Inuit women and men about the proposed changes to the program; (e) how does the government plan on publicizing the changes in services and the relocation of entry points to the affected population; (f) what are the plans for ensuring that the retailers will pass on the subsidy savings to consumer prices; and (g) how does the government intend to increase transparency within the program and monitor how government funds are specifically spent?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 280

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

With regard to the $18 million committed to the restoration of Lake Winnipeg: (a) how much of the committed amount has been spent; (b) what projects has the money been allocated to; (c) how much has each project received; (d) what organizations have received funding; (e) how much has each organization received; (f) what are the intended outcomes for all funding that has been allocated; (g) over what period of time are outcomes expected of each project; (h) has all the money been committed to; and (i) what government departments are overseeing the spending expenditures?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 282

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

With respect to Canadian bilateral aid to Afghanistan, on an annual basis since 2002: (a) what projects have been so funded and in what amounts; (b) which branches of which departments, were involved in approving and overseeing each project; (c) how much is considered tied aid, in percentage and dollar amounts; (d) which projects were sole-sourced contracts; (e) which projects have been audited by independent auditors hired by, or on behalf of, the government; (f) which accounting firms were hired; (g) what was the cost, and submission date, of each audit; (h) by which department or agency was the audit received; (i) were any contracts awarded to auditors without a competitive tender and, if so, which ones, and why; (j) on the basis of what criteria do auditors determine a project to be satisfactory or unsatisfactory and which ones were so designated and why; (k) how many projects have had funding revoked, reduced, or not renewed, because of concerns related to their fiscal or project management and which were so affected, and for what reasons; and (l) which audits referenced projects that lost aid due to corruption, and what was the estimated loss in percentage and dollar amounts?

(Return tabled)