Alex Atamanenko on Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

With respect to genetically engineered CDC Triffid flax that was found contaminating Canadian flax exports in 2009: (a) when was the government first made aware that there was CDC Triffid contamination in Canadian flax exports, how was this communicated to them and by whom; (b) what activities has the government undertaken to address the problem of contamination, including inter-departmental meetings and meetings with industry and trading partners; (c) how much federal money from all sources has been spent to date to repair the damage caused by this contamination to our trading relationship with Europe and for what activities; (d) how much federal money from all sources has been spent to date to clean the system of CDC Triffid flax and assist the industry or farmers to recover from the market loss resulting from this contamination; (e) when was CDC Triffid first made legal to sell in Canada; (f) when was CDC Triffid made illegal to sell in Canada; (g) why did the government consider it necessary to make CDC Triffid illegal; (h) when was the government first made aware of flax farmers’ concerns that the approval for sale in Canada of CDC Triffid could result in the closure of European markets to Canadian flax should any amount of contamination by CDC Triffid ever be discovered in their export shipments, how was this communicated to them and by whom; (i) what steps did the government take to address the concerns in (h); (j) what steps did the government take to ensure that all CDC Triffid was taken off the market and removed from the system once the decision was made to make CDC Triffid illegal to sell in Canada; (k) how long did it take the government to clean the system of CDC Triffid once the decision was made to make it illegal; (l) what steps did the government undertake in each of the years following CDC Triffid flax's removal from the market to ensure that Canadian flax remained uncontaminated by it; and (m) has the government ever been made aware of or discovered evidence that CDC Triffid flax might still be in the system in the years subsequent to its being made illegal to sell in Canada?