Debates of April 23rd, 2012

Question No. 481

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

With regard to all payments made by the government to RackNine Inc. and Matt Meier in the last five years, has the government, including the Prime Minister’s Office, all government departments and agencies, minister’s offices and crown corporations, made such payments, and, if yes: (a) what was the total amount paid in each of the last five years; (b) what was the amount paid by each department, agency and crown corporation in each of the last five years; and (c) for each payment, (i) who made the payment (e.g., the Prime Minister’s Office, a department or agency, a minister’s office, a crown corporation, etc.), (ii) on what date was the payment made, (iii) what services were procured through the payment?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 482

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

With regard to all payments made by the government to Responsive Marketing Group Inc. in the last five years, has the government, including the Prime Minister’s Office, all government departments and agencies, minister’s offices and crown corporations, made such payments, and, if yes: (a) what was the total amount paid in each the last five years; (b) what was the amount paid by each department, agency and crown corporation in each of the last five years; and (c) for each payment, (i) who made the payment (e.g. the Prime Minister’s Office, a department or agency, a minister’s office, a crown corporation, etc.), (ii) on what date was the payment made, (iii) what services were procured through the payment?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 483

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

With regard to all payments made by the government to Campaign Research in the last five years, has the government, including the Prime Minister’s Office, all government departments and agencies, minister’s offices and crown corporations, made such payments, and, if yes: (a) what was the total amount paid in each of the last five years; (b) what was the amount paid by each department, agency and crown corporation in each of the last five years; and (c) for each payment, (i) who made the payment (e.g., the Prime Minister’s Office, a department or agency, a minister’s office, a crown corporation, etc.), (ii) on what date was the payment made, (iii) what services were procured through the payment?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 486

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

With respect to financial assistance issued by Export Development Canada (EDC): (a) for the fiscal years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, what is the total value of general corporate purpose loans; (b) what is the due diligence procedure regarding general corporate purposes loans; (c) what standards are used to assess the potential adverse environmental, social and human rights impacts associated with corporate activities that are funded through general corporate purpose loans; (d) what sources of information are used in order to assess the compliance standards referenced in subquestion (c); (e) what is EDC’s process for monitoring ongoing compliance by its clients with the standards referenced in subquestion (c), and what steps are taken in the event of non-compliance; (f) for all debt relief initiatives designed to reduce sovereign debt for each of the fiscal years from 1999-2000 to 2010-2011, (i) how many payments were received from the Government of Canada, (ii) what is the amount of payment, (iii) what countries received debt relief; (g) what is the total value of loans, lines of credit, guarantees and insurance provided by EDC to companies incorporated in tax havens as defined by the OECD in 2009, 2010 and 2011; (h) for all loans, lines of credit, guarantees and insurance to companies for exploration, extraction, transportation and processing of oil, gas and coal, for the fiscal years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, (i) what is the name of the client for each transaction, (ii) what is the value of each transaction, (iii) what is the country of operation for each transaction; and (i) for all credit facilities and loans to Talisman Energy Inc. since 2006, (i) what is the dollar amount of each transaction, (ii) what is the description of each transaction, (iii) what is the country of investment for each transaction, (iv) are any applications currently being assessed?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 487

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

What is the total amount of government funding since fiscal year 2010-2011, up to and including the current fiscal year, allocated within the constituency of Timmins—James Bay, specifying each department or agency, initiative, and amount?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 488

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

With respect to the third-party management (TPM) of First Nations by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) over the last 12 years: (a) how many First Nations reserves have been operating under co-management or TPM, (i) for how long, (ii) which reserves have been so designated; (b) for each of the reserves under co-management or TPM, (i) who acts as their third-party manager, (ii) under what authority have they been placed under TPM, (iii) on what date did each co-management or third-party management agreement come into force, (iv) what was the amount of debt they held at the time, (v) what debt repayment plan was put into effect for each, (vi) what was the debt when the co-management or TPM ended, (vii) what is the current amount of outstanding debt held by each band council; (c) what requirements must be met by a band council to get out of TPM, (i) who determines those requirements, (ii) how many bands have met those requirements and when; (d) how many audits has AANDC, or its designated proxies, undertaken with respect to third-party managers and their direction of First Nations bands, (i) on what date were such audits prepared, (ii) by whom, (iii) with respect to the management of which bands, (iv) what were the key findings of each audit, (v) what recommendations were implemented, (vi) has any audit resulted in the termination or non-renewal of the contract between the TPM and AANDC, and, if so, which ones and why, (vii) has any audit warranted a police investigation, and, if so, which ones and what was the outcome; (e) according to each community operating under TPM, (i) what management or other fees were charged, on a monthly and annual basis, (ii) what were the fees charged for, (iii) have any third-party managers received extra commissions, bonuses or any other financial reward for their work, and, if so, when was the money awarded, for what, and to which third party managers, (iv) what percentage of each band’s operating budget do such costs represent, on a monthly and annual basis; (f) what individuals, legal or otherwise, have been awarded contracts for co-management or TPM, (i) how many contracts were awarded, (ii) what was the amount of each contract, (iii) when was the contract awarded, (iv) what were the intended services; (g) what legal or professional requirements does a company have to meet to be awarded a contract in (i) co-management, (ii) third-party management; (h) what tendering process is followed in the awarding of co-management and TPM contracts; (i) do AANDC staff have any discretionary powers in awarding a co-management or TPM contract, and, if so, who has that power and under what circumstances; and (j) what evaluations has AANDC conducted of TPM either systematically or of individual cases, including titles and dates of publication?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 490

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

With regard to government procurement, for each of the following companies or individuals, namely, (a) RackNine; (b) RackNine Inc.; (c) RackNine Canada; (d) 2call; (e) 2call.ca and (f) Matt Meier of Edmonton, Alberta, what are the particulars of all and any government contracts for services provided, including (i) the time period covered by the contract, (ii) the nature or purpose of the service provided, (iii) the amount paid to the company or individual for their services, (iv) whether the contract was awarded through a competitive bidding process or was sole-sourced, (v) which government department or agency contracted with the company or individual, (vi) under which budgetary allocation was the company or individual paid for the service provided, (vii) the associated file or reference numbers for each contract?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 492

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

With regard to the government-organized pan-European oil sands advocacy retreat held in London, England, in February 2011: (a) what was the total cost of this event; (b) what was the total spending on (i) hospitality, (ii) accommodations, (iii) travel, including both air and ground transportation, (iv) gifts, (v) meals, (vi) presentation materials; and (c) which officials from departments within the government attended this event, and what was their mandate?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 496

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

With regard to the government’s role in reducing poverty by implementing measures such as the Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB): (a) does the government intend to increase the annual amount of the CCTB, as it was recommended in the 2010 report on poverty presented by the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA); (b) does the government plan to amend the Income Tax Act to make the Disability Tax credit a refundable credit as it was recommended in the 2010 report on poverty by HUMA; and (c) does the government intend to endorse the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, as it was recommended in the 2010 report on poverty by HUMA?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 497

[Mathieu Ravignat, NDP, Pontiac, QC]

With regard to the Enabling Accessibility Fund – Mid-sized Project Component: (a) what is the total budget of this fund; (b) how much money is left in this fund; (c) what projects were selected; (d) from what federal electoral riding did the accepted projects come; (e) is it an ongoing program; (f) who evaluated the application of the Centre Jean-Bosco in Maniwaki, Quebec; and (g) why was the application from the Centre Jean-Bosco not selected?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 499

[Mylène Freeman, NDP, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

With regard to the pipeline between Vallée-Jonction, Quebec, and Black Lake, Quebec: (a) from which program did it receive funding; (b) where did the funds for this program come from; (c) how much funding did the government provide toward this project; (d) what criteria were used to determine that it would be funded; and (e) what environmental studies were carried out?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 500

[Mylène Freeman, NDP, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

With regard to the funding of pipelines: (a) how many pipeline projects have been funded by the government since 2005; (b) under what funds were these projects funded; and (c) what criteria were used to determine which pipeline projects were funded?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 502

[Laurin Liu, NDP, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

With respect to Environment Canada’s vehicle fleet: (a) how much was spent on vehicle purchases from fiscal year 2006-2007 to 2011-2012; (b) what is the policy on purchasing new vehicles; (c) what vehicle models were purchased and what was the cost per vehicle purchased from fiscal year 2006-2007 to 2011-2012; (d) what is the current state of the vehicle fleet (number of vehicles, model, model year, purchase price); and (e) how much was spent on fuel for the vehicle fleet from fiscal year 2006-2007 to 2011-2012?