Debates of May 12th, 2014

Rail Transportation

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table two petitions today. The first one is with respect to the Algoma Central Railway line and the fact that the government had removed the subsidy to this very important line without consultation with the stakeholders on the impact that this would have on businesses, homes, tourism, and communities.

The petitioners are asking for the federal government to reinstate the funding. I must say that the government did come through and put temporary funding back for one more year, but the petitioners remain concerned. These petitioners are from Wawa, Chapleau, and Sault Ste. Marie.

Canada Post

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is with respect to the cuts to Canada Post services. The petitioners are concerned about the loss of jobs, the loss of services, the increase in fees, and the decrease in services. They are calling upon the Government of Canada to reverse the cuts.

The petitioners are from Kapuskasing, Val Rita, Moonbeam, and Petawawa.

[Mike Sullivan, NDP, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, residents in my riding continue to sign petitions protesting the loss of home mail delivery by Canada Post. They are calling upon the Government of Canada to reject Canada Post's plan for reduced services and to explore other options to update Canada Post's business plan.

Dementia

[Mike Sullivan, NDP, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition from petitioners drawing to the attention of the Minister of Health and the House of Commons the fact that the federal government needs a national strategy for dementia and health care for persons afflicted with Alzheimer's disease or other dementia-related diseases.

Canada Post

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

Mr. Speaker, this is a petition from the newly amalgamated community of Fogo Island and the former community of Seldom. They are talking about Canada Post's service, and they are calling for the Canada Post Corporation's proposed downgrade of services to be reversed.

The petitioners want a full service from Canada Post, and they are calling on the government to help maintain this service to this smaller community.

Experimental Lakes Area

[Bruce Hyer, Green, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from dozens of people from Thunder Bay who remain concerned that the Experimental Lakes Area, while it has its temporary reprieve, still needs support for the scientists and the staff and the important work that they do and should continue to do in whole ecosystem research on lakes and rivers.

Mining Industry

[Denis Blanchette, NDP, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a petition from people in Quebec City who are concerned about the practices of mining companies. They feel that the checks and balances currently in place are insufficient. They are calling for the creation of a legal ombudsman mechanism for responsible mining.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 347 to 351, 354, 358 to 360, 365, 370, 373, 376, 377, 379, 384, 386, 387, 394, 401, 408, and 417.

Question No. 347

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

With regard to the Prime Minister’s “24 Seven” videos: (a) what are the total costs of creating, producing, and hosting these videos, broken down by (i) individual video, (ii) department, (iii) program activity, (iv) sub-program activity, (v) labour cost; and (b) who is responsible for creating, producing, and hosting these videos?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), no costing breakdown is available. The Privy Council Office, PCO, manages the Prime Minister’s website, the content of which is owned by the Prime Minister’s Office. All aspects of video production are the responsibility of the Prime Minister’s Office. PCO Communications and Consultations provide web publishing and maintenance support for the PM’s website as well as advice on content, using existing resources.

These activities fall under:

“1.1 Program: Advice and support to the Prime Minister and portfolio ministers” and “1.1.5 Sub-Program: Offices of the Prime Minister and portfolio ministers”.

With regard to part (b), all aspects of video production are the responsibility of the Prime Minister’s Office. PCO Communications and Consultations provide web publishing and maintenance support for the PM’s website as well as advice on content. The information and technical services division is responsible for the servers that host www.pm.gc.ca.

Question No. 348

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

With regard to termination of employment agreements of exempt staff in ministers' offices since December 13, 2011: (a) how many employees in each minister's office have been terminated for misconduct or incompetence; (b) in aggregate, what was the total sum of severance paid out to these employees; (c) what was the average, median and highest amount of severance paid to a single terminated employee; (d) how many employees resigned but still received severance pay; and (e) out of the subset of employees who resigned but still received severance pay, what was the average, median and maximum termination settlement?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, between December 13, 2011, and March 2014, fewer than five individuals working as ministers’ exempt staff were terminated for misconduct or incompetence. Providing the amounts requested in (b) and (c) would result in a disclosure of personal information not authorized under the Privacy Act. Therefore, these figures are not being provided.

Between December 2011 and March 2014, 140 individuals working as ministers’ exempt staff resigned and received severance pay. The average severance payment for this group was $22,510 and the median severance payment was $13,680. The maximum severance payment cannot be provided as it would result in the disclosure of personal information. The member will note that severance payments are not discretionary. They are governed by the Treasury Board policies for ministers’ offices.

Question No. 349

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

With regard to advertising by the government during the broadcast of Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, 2014: (a) what was the total cost for advertising; and (b) what was the cost of each advertisement shown?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada purchased airtime during the broadcast of Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, 2014, for Public Safety Canada’s cyberbullying Campaign.

Public Safety Canada purchased two 30-second spots on the CTV national network and one 30-second spot on the RDS network.

The Government of Canada does not disclose information about the specific amounts paid for individual ad placements or the amounts paid to specific media outlets. In processing Parliamentary returns, the Government applies the Privacy Act and the principles set out in the Access to Information Act, and some information has been withheld on the grounds that the information is considered third party business sensitive.

Question No. 350

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

With regard to the Prime Minister’s “24 Seven” videos: (a) when was the “24 Seven” project conceived; (b) is any of the content of the videos licensed from external providers, and if so, what are the costs of such licensing; (c) what are the file or reference numbers of all files and contracts associated with the conception and production of the videos; and (d) what are the job titles of all government employees involved in the conception and production of the videos?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the Prime Minister’s “24 Seven” videos, with regard to (a), the PCO was first advised of the project in November 2013, and the first video was published on January 6, 2014.

With regard to (b), the PCO manages the Prime Minister’s website, the content of which is owned by the Prime Minister’s Office. All aspects of video production are the responsibility of the Prime Minister’s Office.

With regard to (c), the PCO does not have any contracts associated with the conception and production of the videos.

With regard to (d), PCO Communications and Consultations manages the Prime Minister’s website, the content of which is owned by the Prime Minister’s Office. All aspects of video production, including conception, are the responsibility of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Question No. 351

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

With regard to the sponsorship of parents and grandparents in the family class category: (a) on what date did the government receive the 5,000th application of 2014; and (b) how many applications has the government returned to applicants since that date?

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the 5000th application for sponsorship of parents and grandparents was received January 21, 2014. The Citizenship and Immigration Canada, CIC, website has been updated to advise applicants that the cap has been reached. Members may go to http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/sponsor-parents.asp for details.

With regard to (b), CIC is preparing to return the applications received after the cap was reached. As of March 28, 2014, it is estimated that 2,579 applications will be returned.

Question No. 354

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

With regard to the Canada Job Grant agreements-in-principle reached with several provinces and territories, what is the file number for each agreement?

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the Canada job fund agreements, which include the Canada job grant, there are no file numbers associated with the agreement in principle reached with provinces and territories.

Question No. 358

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

With regard to the use of the government aircrafts operated by departments and agencies under the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness since April 1, 2011, and for each use of the aircraft: (a) what are the names and titles of the passengers present on the flight manifest; (b) what were all the departure and arrival points of the aircraft; (c) who requested access to the fleet; and (d) who authorized the flight?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness does not own any government aircraft. The CBSA does not own any government aircraft.

For reasons of national security, CSIS does not disclose details related to its capital assets. It should be noted that CSIS, like other government departments and agencies, is subject to the scrutiny of the Auditor General. Correctional Service of Canada does not own any government aircraft.

The Parole Board of Canada does not own any government aircraft.

The RCMP’s electronic filing system does not capture these specific details, and as a result, the information requested cannot be obtained without a manual review of related files. Therefore, given the current time constraints, the RCMP is unable to provide the requested information, as it would take an excessive amount of resources and time.

Question No. 359

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

With regard to processing times for visa and immigration applications, broken down by year and using 80% of applications completed as a benchmark, what is the average wait time and success rate, including the total number of applications received and approved for each processing centre in calendar years 2005-2013, for: (a) Family Class, specifically (i) spouses and partners, (ii) children and dependents, (iii) parents and grandparents; (b) Permanent Economic Residents, specifically, (i) federal skilled workers, (ii) Quebec skilled workers, (iii) the provincial nominee program, broken down by province, (iv) live-in caregivers, (v) Canadian experience class, (vi) federal business immigrants, (vii) Quebec business immigrants; (c) Temporary Economic Residents, specifically (i) International Students, (ii) Temporary Foreign Workers; and (d) Temporary Resident Visas, specifically (i) Temporary Resident Visa, (ii) Work Visa, (iii) ten-year Super Visa?

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, producing the voluminous information requested in the question and sub-questions would require an extensive manual search of Citizenship and Immigration Canada records and an excessive number of taxpayer-funded man-hours. After a lengthy data extraction process involving millions of files, the report would have to be reviewed in its entirety to ensure that the data were accurate and valid. Providing the full and accurate information requested in the question and sub-questions is therefore not feasible within the prescribed timeline for the reasons outlined above.

Question No. 360

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

With regard to the use of government-owned aircrafts operated by Transport Canada since April 1, 2011, and for each use of the aircraft: (a) what are the names and titles of the passengers present on the flight manifest; (b) what were all the departure and arrival points of the aircraft; (c) who requested access to the fleet; and (d) who authorized the flight?