Debates of Jan. 30th, 2012

Question No. 237

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

With respect to Canada’s Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative, what are the total authorities used in any and all federal programs and activities for fiscal years 2005-2006 to 2010-2011 (inclusive), including authorities granted by statutes other than Appropriation Acts and any partner or other government contributions in support of the initiative, broken down by specific initiative, including (i) the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Secretariat, (ii) the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Transportation Infrastructure Fund, (iii) the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative Research Consortium, (iv) Canadian Tourism Commission marketing and sales programs focused in the Asia-Pacific, (v) any other government programs or activities that are part of this initiative?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 238

[David Tilson, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

With regard to The Highland Companies’ proposed limestone quarry to be located in Melancthon Township, Dufferin County, Ontario: (a) with which departments has the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency communicated in any way concerning a possible environmental assessment on this proposed project and what were the specific subjects of these communications; (b) what was the specific nature of any communication between the Minister of the Environment or his office and other federal departments or agencies, including the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, on this matter; (c) what specific information does the government currently possess that contributes to its determination that a federal environmental assessment is not required; (d) what communication has the federal government or its agencies had with the Government of Ontario or its agencies on this matter; and (e) what communication has the government or its agencies had with the project proponent, its parent companies or its subsidiaries on this matter?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 239

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

With respect to Employment Insurance (EI) Processing Centres and EI Call Centres: (a) what was the statistical median and mode for EI application processing times, nationally and broken down by province, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (b) what is the total number and percentage of EI claim applications, nationally and broken down by province, that did not get paid within 28 days, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (c) for the claim applications that take longer than 28 days to process, what is the statistical average, median and mode number of days, nationally and broken down by province, that it takes for payment to occur, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (d) what was the percentage of automation achieved in EI processing, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (e) what was the number of EI processing staff, nationally and broken down by province, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (f) what is the bonus or incentive structure concerning EI application processing times achieved, for (i) workers, (ii) management; (g) for EI application claims that take longer than 28 days to process, is there a bonus or incentives structure to encourage that the application be processed as quickly as possible, for (i) workers, (ii) management; (h) what are the service standard policies for claims that take longer than 28 days to process; (i) have the service level standards for EI claims processing changed in the last six years, and, if so, (i) when, (ii) why; (j) what was the average EI processing worker salary, nationally and broken down by province, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (k) what was the total EI processing worker salary cost, nationally and broken down by province, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (l) what was the total number of EI Call Centre staff, nationally and in each province, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (m) have the service level standards for EI Call Centre call backs changed in the last six years, and, if so, (i) when, (ii) why; (n) why did the National Service Level for Access II calls answered within 180 seconds change from 95% to 80% in 2008 at EI Call Centres; (o) what is the EI Call Centre agent Occupancy measure and what is the government's rationale for this measure; (p) what has been the EI Call Centre agent Occupancy target and result, nationally and broken down by province, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (q) what was the target for EI Call Centre High Volume Targets for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (r) what was the total cost associated with training new EI Call Centre workers, broken down by province, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (s) what is the average speed of answer for EI Call Centre calls, broken down by EI Call Centre, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; and (t) what is the abandonment rate for calls at EI Call Centres, nationally and broken down by EI Call Centre, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 241

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

With respect to Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) call centres: (a) for CPP/OAS Call Centre Access I calls, what is (i) the service level standard, (ii) the corresponding results achieved, broken down by CPP/OAS call centre, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (b) for CPP/OAS Call Centre Access II calls, what is (i) the service level standard, (ii) the corresponding results achieved, broken down by CPP/OAS call centre, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (c) if the National Service Level standard for Access II calls at CPP/OAS call centres changed in the last six years, what was the reasoning for the change; (d) what has been the CPP/OAS Call Centre agent Occupancy target and result, broken down by CPP/OAS call centre, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (e) for CPP/OAS Call Centre High Volume Messages (i) what is the service level standard, (ii) what are the corresponding results achieved, broken down by CPP/OAS call centre, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (f) what was (i) the total number of calls received by CPP/OAS call centres, (ii) the total number of CPP/OAS Call Centre Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Busy calls, broken down by CPP/OAS call centre, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (g) have the service level standards for CPP/OAS call centre call-backs changed in the last six years, and, if so, (i) when, (ii) why; (h) what was the total number of CPP/OAS call centre staff, nationally and in each province, in the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (i) what was the staff turnover at CPP/OAS call centres, broken down by province, in the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; and (j) what was the total cost associated with training new CPP/OAS call centre workers, broken down by province, in the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 242

[François Lapointe, NDP, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

What is the total amount of government funding since fiscal year 2008-2009, by year, up to and including the current fiscal year, allocated within the constituency of Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, identifying each department or agency, initiative and amount?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 243

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

With respect to the Third Report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, entitled “Ahmadinejad’s Iran: A Threat to Peace, Human Rights and International Law” (Sessional Paper No. 8510-403-162), presented to the House of Commons on December 9, 2010 (40th Parliament, Third Session): (a) does the government plan to adopt the 24 recommendations outlined in this report; and (b) in particular, how does the government plan to respond to the recommendations made in the report concerning (i) terrorism, as described in Recommendation 13 of the report, (ii) the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, as described in Recommendation 17 of the report, (iii) the Iranian incitement to genocide, as described in Recommendations 20 and 21 of the report, (iv) human rights violations, as described in Recommendations 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 10 of the report?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 244

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

With regard to Bill C-10, An Act to enact the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act and to amend the State Immunity Act, the Criminal Code, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and other Acts: (a) what is the total projected cost of all measures contained in Bill C-10; (b) how long will it take to fully implement all proposed changes to the criminal justice system and its associated institutions, including, but not limited to, penal, policing and judiciary institutions; (c) how will the total funding be divided annually to meet the timeframe offered in response to (b) with regard to changes to the criminal justice system and its associated institutions; (d) what is the projected distribution of the total projected cost of Bill C-10 across each of its nine subsections; (e) what federal or provincial programs currently in effect in relation to the criminal justice system will be discontinued to support Bill C-10, and what federal and provincial programs will lose funding to support Bill C-10; (f) how much funding will be lost by each of the programs identified in (e); (g) how will the total projected cost of Bill C-10, as well as the projected cost of each of the nine individual subsections, be divided between the federal government and each province or territory; (h) what methodologies were used to determine projections and estimates provided in response to (a) through (g); (i) what supporting documentation does the government plan to make public to validate the provided projections and estimates; and (j) will the documentation and methodology used to determine these estimates be made public, and, if not, will they be disclosed to the Parliamentary Budget Officer?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 250

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

What is the total amount of government funding, since fiscal year 2006-2007, up to and including the current fiscal year, allocated within the constituency of Drummond, specifying each (i) department or agency, (ii) initiative or program, (iii) year, (iv) amount?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 252

[Tyrone Benskin, NDP, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

With regard to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and its current and former employment of Bruce Carson, Dimitri Soudas, Sandra Buckler, Guy Giorno, Nigel Wright, Ian Brodie, Ray Novak, Andrew McDougall, Kory Teneycke, Alykhan Velshi and Angelo Persichilli: (a) what were/are the employment agreements with each of these individuals in terms of (i) salary, (ii) vehicle allowance or provision of car and/or driver, (iii) expense account for food, drink, alcohol and hospitality, (iv) out-of-town accommodations for the individual; (b) in each of the years between 2000 and 2011, how much did each of these individuals expense for (i) food, (ii) travel, (iii) hotels, (iv) hospitality, (v) drink, (vi) vehicle use; (c) what were the itemized amounts and descriptions of each individual’s individual expenses as identified in the answers to (b); and (d) if the PMO provides any of these individuals with a vehicle for his use, as identified in the answers to (a)(ii), broken down by individual, (i) what is the model and make of the car, (ii) how much does this benefit cost the PMO on an annual basis?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 256

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

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 Halifax West, identifying each department or agency, initiative and amount?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 257

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

With respect to Industry Canada’s Community Access Program, which provides funding to communities across Canada with populations facing barriers to Internet use, and contributions under the Youth Employment Strategy for the Community Access Program: (a) for each year from 2005-2006 to the present, what is the total actual spending on the Community Access Program excluding the Youth Employment Strategy (i) nationally, (ii) broken down by province; (b) for each year from 2005-2006 to the present, what were the total estimates on the Community Access Program excluding the Youth Employment Strategy (i) nationally, (ii) broken down by province; (c) for each year from 2005-2006 to the present, what is the total actual spending on the Youth Employment Strategy directly related to the Community Access Program (i) nationally, (ii) broken down by province; (d) for each year from 2005-2006 to the present, what were the total estimates on the Youth Employment Strategy directly related to the Community Access Program (i) nationally, (ii) broken down by province; (e) for each year from 2005-2006 to the present, what was the total usage of the Community Access Program (i) by people-hours nationally, (ii) by people-hours broken down by province; and (f) what is the projected spending for the Community Access Program and the Youth Employment Strategy for the Community Access Program for the fiscal year 2012-2013, (i) nationally, (ii) broken down by province?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 260

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

With regard to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada funding in the riding of London—Fanshawe for the last five fiscal years: (a) what is the total amount of spending by (i) year, (ii) program, (iii) local groups that received the funding; and (b) what is the amount of spending by each of the following programs, (i) Opportunities Fund (Regional)--Enhanced Employment Assistance Services, (ii) Opportunities Funds (Regional)--Wage Subsidy, (iii) Youth - Skills Link--Individual Work Experience, (iv) New Horizons for Seniors--Capital, (v) New Horizons for Seniors--Community Participation and Leadership (CPL), (vi) Opportunities Fund (Regional)--Enhanced Employment Assistance Services, (vii) Enabling Accessibility Fund, (viii) Youth--Canada Summer Jobs?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 261

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

With regard to government funding in the riding of London—Fanshawe since fiscal year 2004-2005, up to and including the current fiscal year: (a) what is the total amount of funding broken down by (i) department, (ii) agency, (iii) all other government institutions, (iv) program; and (b) how many jobs have been created as a direct result of this government funding, broken down by (i) full-time jobs, (ii) part-time jobs?