Debates of April 11th, 2016

Motion No. 2

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

(Motion agreed to)

Animal Welfare

[Kennedy Stewart, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present an online petition calling on the federal government to ban the sale and use of electric shock collars on household pets. It was signed by over 5,400 Canadians and initiated by two constituents from my riding, Gwendy and Alfie Williams, who have worked tirelessly to protect animal welfare for the better part of the decade.

Members will notice that there is only one sheet of paper because this is the very first e-petition to be tabled in the House. I would like to thank all of the staff at the Clerk's office who have done an outstanding job in setting up Parliament's e-petition website.

The new system has been a resounding success to date, with over 50 official e-petitions, receiving nearly 150,000 signatures from the public. As more and more Canadians engage with this new form of participatory democracy, I urge the government to take their concerns seriously.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I want to add my thanks to the Clerk and the assistant clerks for their work on electronic petitions.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 57 and 65.

Question No. 57

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

With regard to Canada Pension Plan Disability applications, and employing the same calculation method used by the Auditor General in his 2015 Fall Report (Exhibit 6.6), what is the backlog of appeals for Canada Pension Plan Disability decisions as of November 1, 2015?

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, since its creation on April 1, 2013, the tribunal has received a total of 17,190 Canada pension plan disability appeals.

As of November 1, 2015, the number of active Canada pension plan disability appeals has been reduced to 5,969. Of those 5,969 appeals, there are only 332 appeals that are left from the backlog of over 6,000 cases initially transferred from the office of the commissioner of review tribunals.

As of February 23, 2016, the number of Canada pension plan disability appeals is now down to 4,906. Of those 4,906 appeals, only 85 appeals remain from the original backlog transferred by the office of the commissioner of review tribunals, and about 1,700 cases are currently assigned to members and will be decided in the near future.

In the fall of 2015, the tribunal established the following service standard for all new Canada pension plan and old age security appeals received at the general division as of December 1, 2015: 85% of final decisions will be made within five months of the appeal being ready to proceed.

Question No. 65

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

With regard to the government’s commitment to implement each one of the 94 recommendations prepared by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission: what are the government's projected costs to implement each recommendation, broken down by recommendation?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, insofar as Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, INAC, is concerned, the response is as follows.

On December 15, 2015, the Prime Minister accepted the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and announced that the government will work with leaders of first nations, Métis Nation, Inuit, provinces and territories, parties to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, and other key partners, to design a national engagement strategy for developing and implementing a national reconciliation framework, informed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action.

The 94 calls to action are directed to a wide range of institutions, including the Government of Canada, provincial and territorial governments, churches, corporations, and schools.

The costs of implementing the calls to action will only be known after national engagement with stakeholders has taken place and subsequent discussions have occurred with those responsible for the implementation of individual calls to action. For instance, the government is in the process of reviewing the submissions of families, loved ones, survivors, as well as front-line services, national aboriginal organizations, and provinces and territories in order to design a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.

We will keep Canadians apprised of our progress on this commitment, including any related costs.

Starred Questions

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, would you be so kind as to call Starred Question No. 63? I ask that the question and answer to Question No. 63 be printed in Hansard as if read.

*Question No. 63

[Kennedy Stewart, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

With regard to the reported unemployment rate of 7.2%, provided by Statistics Canada in January 2016: what is the government’s target for reducing the unemployment rate in Canada?

[MaryAnn Mihychuk, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, in January 2016, Statistics Canada reported that the national unemployment rate was 7.2%, which is a 0.6 percentage point increase since January 2015, when it was 6.6%. Throughout 2015, the unemployment rate fluctuated between 6.6% and 7.1%. However, the national unemployment rate remains below its historical average of 8.3% since January 1976, which was Statistics Canada’s first labour force survey publication.

The fragile and uncertain global economic environment has weighed on Canada’s own economy. Over the last four years, growth in Canada has slowed to below 2% on average, and the sharp decline in global crude oil prices since the end of 2014 has placed more significant downward pressure on the economy. However, the conditions are in place for the economy to begin to regain momentum, and post more solid economic growth and job creation going forward.

The government recognizes that investing in infrastructure creates good, well-paying jobs that can help the middle class grow and prosper today. And by making it easier to move people and products, well-planned infrastructure can deliver sustained economic growth for years to come. With historic investments in public transit, green infrastructure, and social infrastructure, budget 2016 will take advantage of historically low interest rates to renew Canada’s infrastructure and improve the quality of life for all Canadians.

In addition, to better make sure that Canadians get the help they need when they need it, the Government is taking immediate action to improve employment insurance. This includes making changes to the eligibility rules for new entrants and re-entrants, temporarily enhancing benefits in certain regions, reducing the employment insurance waiting period, extending the maximum duration of the work-sharing agreements, and investing in improved service delivery.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, if Questions Nos. 50 to 56, 58 to 62, and 66 to 69 could be made orders for returns, these returns would be tabled immediately.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Question No. 50

[Dianne Lynn Watts, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

With regard to the Provincial Territorial Infrastructure Component, National and Regional Projects of the New Building Canada Plan, and how much money has been earmarked for projects of interest which have been planned but not yet been announced: (a) what funds have been allocated to each province and territory; (b) what is the number of projects in each province and territory; (c) how much money has been earmarked for each project listed in (b); (d) what data was used to determine which projects would be selected; and (e) when will these projects be announced?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 51

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

With regard to ministerial offices outside the National Capital Region: (a) how many offices were opened under the previous government; (b) how many offices have been kept open by the current government; (c) what branches or programs are operated out of these offices; (d) what is the name and purpose of each office, broken down by region and province; (e) what is the address and location of each office; (f) what are the projected annual operating expenses for each office for the coming year; and (g) what is the number of (i) full-time staff, (ii) temporary staff, in each office?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 52

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

With respect to data, information, or privacy breaches in government departments, institutions and agencies for 2015: (a) how many breaches have occurred in total, broken down by (i) department, institution, or agency, (ii) number of individuals affected; (b) of those breaches identified in (a), how many have been reported to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, broken down by (i) department, institution or agency, (ii) number of individuals affected; and (c) how many breaches are known to have led to criminal activity such as fraud or identity theft, broken down by department, institution or agency?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 53

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

With regard to the Translation Bureau (TB), which falls under the responsibility of Public Works and Government Services Canada: (a) since 2013-2014, broken down by year, (i) how many translator, interpreter, terminologist and reviser positions has the TB had, (ii) how many client institutions has the TB had; (b) what is the total amount billed to the TB’s client institutions for (i) translation or revision services, (ii) interpretation services; (c) what are the estimated costs of implementing a machine translation tool as of April 1, 2016; (d) what studies were undertaken on (i) the justification for implementing a machine translation tool, (ii) the impact of a machine translation tool on bilingualism in the public service, (iii) the quality of the texts translated by a machine translation tool, (iv) the costs associated with implementing a machine translation tool; (e) since 2005-2006, broken down by year and by department, what has been the total value of the contracts sent to external suppliers rather than the TB, broken down by contracts for (i) translation, (ii) interpretation, (iii) revision; (f) what financial and human resources, in terms of staff working in full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, has the TB devoted to developing its machine translation tool; (g) since 2011-2012, broken down by year and by department, what financial and human resources, in terms of FTEs, have been devoted to external suppliers and allocated to (i) contracting with suppliers for translation and revision, (ii) management of the contracts referred to in (i), (iii) quality assurance for these contracts; (h) since 2005-2006, broken down by year and by department, how many words have been translated by external suppliers rather than the TB; (i) since 2005-2006, broken down by year, how much has the TB paid suppliers of translation services with which it has contracted; (j) since 2005-2006, broken down by year, what financial and human resources, in terms of FTEs, has the TB devoted to (i) contracting with suppliers for translation, (ii) management of these contracts, (iii) quality assurance for these contracts; (k) since 2013-2014, broken down by month, how many words have been sent to the TB by client institutions and (i) translated by translators who are indeterminate employees of the TB, (ii) translated by TB suppliers; (l) has the government taken steps to hire new employees between now and 2019-2020, and if so, how many translators will be hired internally, broken down by year, (i) in indeterminate positions, (ii) in temporary positions; and (m) what is the TB’s current pricing structure?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 54

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

With regard to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and francophone immigration to Canada: (a) how many full time equivalents (FTEs) are allocated to IRCC to (i) process applications, (ii) develop programs for francophones outside Quebec; (b) how does IRCC take into account the specific needs and realities of francophone communities and of francophone immigrants outside Quebec in order to meet the objective of recruiting and integrating francophone immigrants into minority communities; (c) what are the IRCC’s budgetary resources allocated by year, in the past five years, to (i) promotion and recruitment efforts in francophone countries abroad, (ii) settlement and resettlement services in Canada for francophones in francophone communities outside Quebec; (d) how does IRCC ensure that the resources allocated in (c) contribute to an approach by and for francophone minority communities; (e) what are the results of the francophone promotion and recruitment efforts in francophone countries abroad since 2013; (f) how many francophone immigrants has each of Canada’s provinces and territories taken in per year in the past five years; (g) what is the proportion of francophone immigrants taken in for each of the last five years compared to all immigrants taken in during the same period; (h) in which IRCC immigration categories or programs have francophone immigrants been placed in each of the last five years, broken down by program; (i) what is IRCC’s definition of a francophone immigrant; (j) how many francophone immigrants has Express Entry attracted per year since its creation, broken down by province and territory; (k) have any changes been made to Express Entry since its creation to attract more francophone immigrants and, if so, what are they; (l) are there any formal mechanisms for consulting francophone minority communities and, if so, what are they; and (m) to date, how many members of the Immigration and Refugee Board, broken down by city, (i) have French as their preferred language, (ii) are proficient in both official languages (level B2 or higher)?

(Return tabled)