Debates of Nov. 14th, 2016

Question No. 502

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

With regard to consultations on the Department of Canadian Heritage’s initiative Canadian Content in a Digital World, as of January 1, 2016: (a) whom did the Minister of Canadian Heritage meet and what were the details of those meetings, including, (i) the date of the meeting, (ii) the individuals in attendance, (iii) the organizations that these individuals represent, (iv) did the organization in question use the services of a public relations firm, (v) were the people in attendance registered with the Registry of Lobbyists; (b) whom did the Minister’s exempt staff, including office staff, meet and what were the details of those meetings, including, (i) the date of the meeting, (ii) the individuals in attendance, (iii) the organizations that these individuals represent, (iv) did the organization in question use the services of a public relations firm, (v) were the people in attendance registered with the Registry of Lobbyists; (c) did the Minister and her exempt staff, including office staff, meet with representatives from public agencies, including, (i) CBC/Radio-Canada, (ii) Telefilm Canada, (iii) Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office, (iv) National Film Board of Canada, (v) Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, (vi) Canada Media Fund, (vii) Copyright Board of Canada, (viii) Canada Council for the Arts, (ix) Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, (x) Global Affairs Canada; and (d) with respect to the services provided by the third-party consulting firm Ipsos Public Affairs as part of the consultations, (i) how many employees of the third-party firm are assigned to provide services to the Department of Canadian Heritage, (ii) how much has the department spent on these services, (iii) was a competitive process held regarding these services, (iv) if so, who were the other bidders, (v) how long was the call for tenders posted publicly?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 503

[Len Webber, Conservative, Calgary Confederation, AB]

With regard to credit cards issued to ministerial staff: what expenses were charged to a government credit card, and subsequently reimbursed by the card holder for the period of November 4, 2015, to September 23, 2016, including, (i) the name of the vendor and the place of purchase, (ii) the date of the purchase, (iii) the value of the purchase, (iv) the due date of the statement, (v) the date on which the card holder provided reimbursement in full, (vi) the name of the card holder, (vii) the job title of the card holder, (viii) the department or agency of the card holder, (ix) the confirmation if that card holder is still an active holder of a government credit card?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 504

[Len Webber, Conservative, Calgary Confederation, AB]

With regard to credit cards issued to Ministers, Ministers of State, and Parliamentary Secretaries: what expenses were charged to a government credit card, and subsequently reimbursed by the card holder for the period of November 4, 2015, to September 23, 2016, including, (i) the name of the vendor and the place of purchase, (ii) the date of the purchase, (iii) the value of the purchase, (iv) the due date of the statement, (v) the date on which the card holder provided reimbursement in full, (vi) the name of the card holder, (vii) the official job title of the card holder, (viii) the confirmation if that card holder is still an active holder of a government credit card?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 505

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

With regard to the Facebook posting from the Prime Minister's Principal Secretary on September 22, 2016, which references personalized cash payout and incidentals, broken down by Minister's office, since November 4, 2015: (a) what is the amount paid out to Ministers and their exempt staff under this category; (b) how much has been paid out to each individual under this category; (c) what is the list of the expenses that are eligible to be claimed under this category; and (d) what is the detailed breakdown of each payout under this category?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 507

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

With regard to the Skills Link program: (a) what has been the program’s total budget since 2013, inclusively, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) electoral district; (b) what is the program’s total budget in each electoral district for 2016; and (c) what are the criteria for determining the amount allocated to the applicant organization?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 508

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

With regard to the “Kathryn Spirit,” a derelict vessel in Beauharnois, Quebec: (a) what amounts have been spent per year by the government since 2011 for maintenance, related costs, abortive towing attempts or any other costs related to this vessel; (b) how many employees, broken down by department, have worked on this file since 2011, broken down by year; (c) what were the costs of the stabilization work during the summer of 2016, in general and including costs to deploy personnel, ground, naval and air assets of the various departments; (d) how many individuals, broken down by department, were deployed when the vessel listed heavily this summer and for how long; (e) what were the ground, air and naval assets used during this incident; and (f) what is the estimated reaction time between the moment a leak is detected near the “Kathryn Spirit,” the arrival of Coast Guard personnel and the deployment of all protection measures?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 509

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

With regard to services provided to the Prime Minister, including nanny and childcare services: are they considered to be a taxable benefit?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 510

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

With regard to the visit of the Chinese Premier to the Westin Hotel in Ottawa, in September 2016, including the installation of a privacy wall outside of the Hotel: (a) on what date did the government become aware that the wall would be constructed; (b) in what manner was the government notified that the wall would be constructed; (c) who notified the government that the wall would be constructed; (d) what are the details regarding any communication the government has had with Chinese representatives regarding the wall; (e) did the National Capital Commission give the Westin permission for the construction of the wall; (f) did any other government department give the Westin permission for the construction of the wall; (g) did the Prime Minister or anyone from the PMO ever raise the issue of the wall with members of the Chinese government; (h) if the answer to (g) is affirmative, what are the details of such interactions including the dates and titles of individuals involved in the communication; (i) did the government pay any costs to the Westin Hotel associated with the visit of the Chinese delegation and, if so, what was the amount; (j) what is the breakdown of any costs associated with (i), including number of rooms, number of nights, and amounts spent on food and beverages?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 513

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

With respect to the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario from 2010-2011 to 2016-2017 please provide: (a) the full list of projects applications and denials; and (b) the amount of funding already allocated before the year starts.

(Return tabled)

Question No. 514

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

With respect to the First Nations Inuit Health Branch at Health Canada: (a) what was the number of requests for travel in 2016-2017 that were accepted and denied broken down by (i) escort for pregnant women, (ii) escort for children, (iii) travel to safe or interval houses, (iv) compassionate travel; (b) for every health facility on reserve, specify (i) the infrastructure grade, (ii) the need for repair, (iii) the ability to meet current demand, (iv) the ability to meet increased demand, (v) the age of the facility, (vi) the communities without a facility, (vii) the number of facilities expected to be replaced, repaired, or built broken down by year from 2016-2017 to 2020-2021, (viii) the priority list of these projects; and (c) specify for every aboriginal head start program sites on reserve (i) the infrastructure grade, (ii) the need for repair, (iii) the ability to meet current demand, (iv) the ability to meet increased demand, (v) the age of the facility, (vi) the communities without a facility, (vii) the number of facilities expected to be replaced, repaired, or built broken down by year from 2016-2017 to 2020-2021, (viii) the priority list of these projects.

(Return tabled)

Question No. 515

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

With respect to third party managers and co-managers on indian reserves, what is: (a) the full list of third party managers and co-managers broken down by band; (b) the length of time each band has been under a third party manager or co-manager; and (c) the full list of remuneration and expenses for each third party manager or co-manager?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 516

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

With regard to each of the following polls or focus groups referenced in the government`s response to Q-339, what were the results, findings, and conclusions, broken down by poll or focus group conducted by (i) Environics for Finance Canada, (ii) Ekos Research Associates for Health Canada, (iii) Harris Decima for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 519

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

With regard to the offices of the Minister of Small Business and Tourism and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and their staff: (a) what are the costs associated with all fit-up, renovation, information, technology, or furniture purchases; (b) what is the total cost, as well as an itemized breakdown of costs for all of the purchases and work described in the above Ministers` responses to Q-295; and (c) what is the itemized breakdown for all costs associated with the items described in parts (a) and (b) of the government`s response to Q-295 from the following Ministers (i) Minister of Justice, (ii) Minister of National Defense, (iii) Minister of Status of Women?