With regard to the change in mandate and the administrative changes at the Montreal Biosphere: (a) will the memorandum of understanding signed in 1991 by the City of Montreal and the government be amended or replaced by 2016, (i) was a new memorandum of understanding signed by the government, (ii) what are the agreement clauses of the new memorandum, (iii) what impact will these changes have on current research programs; (b) how many positions at the Biosphere will be abolished or transferred to other units in 2013 or over the new few years; (c) was the Biosphere’s total budget increased or decreased; (d) was the Biosphere’s budget or a part thereof allocated to another program; (e) what changes will be made to the Biosphere’s interactive activities and exhibits; (f) what changes will be made to the Biosphere’s physical layout; (g) which part of the building will be used for educational and interactive activities; (h) will the Biosphere house services and staff from the Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC) or another Environment Canada unit or agency, and if so, which ones; and (i) how many CMC employees will be working at the Biosphere?
In the House of Commons on March 8th, 2013. See this statement in context.