Debates of Sept. 19th, 2016

Question No. 244

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

With regard to Infrastructure Canada: (a) what amounts of announced infrastructure funds have gone unspent in the previous five years (2011-2015), broken down by year; (b) where have the unspent infrastructure funds been transferred; and (c) how much of these unspent infrastructure funds have been transferred to top up the Gas Tax Fund in each of the previous five years (2011-2015), broken down by year?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 245

[David Yurdiga, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

With regard to improving primary and secondary education for First Nations Children, as indicated in the 2016 Budget: (a) what targets and criteria has the government identified as components of improving primary and secondary education for First Nations children; (b) for each target or criteria in (a), what consultations were undertaken to identify these as components leading to improvement for primary and secondary education of First Nations children; (c) for each consultation in (b), (i) what was the date, (ii) what was the location, (iii) what organizations and individuals were consulted, (iv) what briefings or submissions were included as part of the consultation process; (d) what are the components of the anticipated program growth costs associated with the government’s investment in the current on reserve primary and secondary education system from $226.3 million in 2016-2017 to $465.5 million in 2020-2021; (e) for each component in (d), what are the details of the program growth costs, broken down by (i) the department or agency providing the funding, (ii) the program to which the funding will be provided, (iii) the nature or purpose of the program, (iv) the amount of funds the program is anticipated to receive for each fiscal year from 2016-2017 to 2020-2021 inclusively; (f) what are the components of the anticipated program growth costs associated with the government’s investment in the supporting system transformation to improve education outcomes from $60.1 million in 2016-2017 to $332.5 million in 2020-2021; (g) for each component in (f), what are the details of the program growth costs broken down by (i) the department or agency providing the funding, (ii) the program to which the funding will be provided, (iii) the nature or purpose of the program, (iv) the amount of funds the program is anticipated to receive for each fiscal year from 2016-2017 to 2020-2021 inclusively; (h) what are the components of the anticipated program growth costs associated with the government’s investment in the fostering better learning environments in First Nations schools from $96.6 million in 2016-2017 to $208.8 million in 2020-2021; (i) for each component in (h), what are the details of the program growth costs, broken down by, (i) the department or agency providing the funding, (ii) the program to which the funding will be provided, (iii) the nature or purpose of the program, (iv) the amount of funds the program is anticipated to receive for each fiscal year from 2016-2017 to 2020-2021 inclusively?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 246

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

With respect to all government owned aircraft and helicopters, since November 4, 2015: what is the complete and detailed list of all instances where the aircraft was used to transport Ministers or their staff, and for each instance, (i) what was the origin of the flight, (ii) what was the final destination, (iii) were there any intermediary stops, and, if so, what were they (iv) which passengers were on the flight, (v) who authorized the flight, (vi) what was the total cost, (vii) what was the cost for the flight crew, (viii) what was the cost for fuel, (ix) what was the cost for food and beverages?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 247

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

With regard to the Canada Summer Jobs program, in 2016: what is the total amount of funding allocated, broken down by constituency?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 248

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

With regard to the Columbia River Treaty (CRT): (a) who is expected to lead the Canadian delegation for the CRT renegotiations; (b) what steps has the government taken to appoint a negotiator to renegotiate for the CRT; (c) what steps has the government undergone to date to facilitate a renegotiation of the CRT or strengthen its bargaining position; (d) has the government identified the required scope of a renegotiation of the CRT; (e) how many briefings were made available to Canadian ministers and what were the titles and dates of these briefings; (f) what kind of funding has been allocated to fill in knowledge gaps in advance of renegotiation, whether in the form of studies, reports, consultations, or otherwise; (g) is the International Joint Commission expected to provide advice to negotiators; (h) does the government plan to respond to the letter sent to the Minister of Foreign Affairs on March 18, 2016, by some individuals from British Columbia and titled ‘Re: Columbia River Treaty Renegotiations’ and, if so, when; (i) has any analysis or study been done to see if Environment and Climate Change Canada has the necessary resources to deal effectively with this issue; and (j) has any funding been set aside specifically for Environment and Climate Change Canada to deal with this issue, and if so, how much?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 249

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

With regard to the Canadian trade office in Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq: (a) what is the total annual operational cost, including, but not limited to, (i) salaries, (ii) security, (iii) building and supply costs; (b) what is the estimated cost to upgrade this trade office to a full consulate; (c) what is the estimated total annual cost of running a full consulate in Erbil; and (d) what is the total annual operational cost of other consulates, broken down by salaries, security, building, and supply costs, in the Middle East, including but not limited to (i) Jeddah, (ii) Istanbul, (iii) Dubai?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 250

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Red Deer—Lacombe, AB]

With regard to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities and the decision to renovate and refurnish his office: (a) was the contract for renovations, including flooring and painting, for the Minister and the Deputy Ministers offices, as well as for all staff, openly tendered and, if so, on what date was (i) the tender first posted, (ii) the winner selected, (iii) the work begun; (b) was the contract for a furniture supplier openly tendered and, if so, on what date was (i) the tender first posted, (ii) the winner selected, (iii) the work begun; and (c) what were the total number and the names of all bidders for both renovations and furniture?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 251

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

With regard to all public service employees who are currently on leave from their departmental positions but have received appointments as exempt staff: (a) what are the group, classification, level and department from which each individual is on leave; and (b) what are their titles and for which Minister's office do they currently work, including the Prime Minister's Office?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 252

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

With regard to the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program from the time it was launched until June 1, 2016, inclusively: (a) what amounts were allocated to each constituency; and (b) which projects were approved and which were not in the first round of calls for proposals, broken down by constituency?

(Return tabled)

*Question No. 253

[Kennedy Stewart, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

With regard to the Ministerial Panel examining the proposed Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) Project: (a) what process was used to select panel members; (b) what salary is each panel member receiving; (c) what per diem is each panel member receiving; (d) what is the total amount budgeted to support the work of the panel from now until November 2016; (e) of the total budget in (d), what amount is allocated to support the panel to (i) review and consider input from the public via an on-line portal, (ii) meet with local stakeholder representatives in communities along the pipeline and shipping route, (iii) meet with Indigenous groups who wish to share their views with the panel, (iv) submit a report to the Minister of Natural Resources no later than November 1, 2016; (f) how much funding will be made available to local stakeholder representatives who wish to share their views with the panel; (g) how much funding will be made available to Indigenous groups who wish to share their views with the panel; (h) what measures will the panel take to seek and include the views of those who were previously rejected from participating as commentators or intervenors in the National Energy Board’s review of the project; (i) what measures will the government take to promote and advertise the online questionnaire for Canadians to submit their feedback on the TMX Project; (j) will the raw data and results from the online questionnaire be released to the public; (k) what statistical methods will the panel use to analyze the input received from the online questionnaire and decide how to weigh the results in their final report; (l) does the panel’s mandate include providing a recommendation, as part of their final report to the Minister, regarding whether the government should approve or reject Kinder Morgan's application; and (m) what is the government’s definition of “social license”?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 256

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

With regard to Service Canada’s national in-person service delivery network, for each Service Canada Centre: (a) how many full-time employees (FTEs) were there on October 19, 2015; (b) how many FTEs are there today; (c) which offices have changed their hours of service, and for each office that has changed its hours of service, what are the new hours; (d) what is the service standard metric (number of client visits) that determine whether or not a Service Canada Centre changes its hours of service or closes altogether; (e) what is the forward looking strategic in-person footprint service delivery strategy and which locations plan to close in the next four years; and (f) how many FTEs are planning to be working in Citizen Service Branch, directly for in-person on October 1, 2019?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 257

[Larry Miller, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

With regard to government credit cards that have been assigned to exempt staff, Parliamentary Secretaries, and Ministers since November 4, 2015: (a) what is the total amount charged to these cards; and (b) for each assigned credit card, what is the (i) department, (ii) title of the individual card holder, (iii) date the card was assigned, (iv) current outstanding balance?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 258

[Larry Miller, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

With regard to relocation costs for exempt staff moving to Ottawa since October 19, 2015: (a) what is the total cost paid by the government for relocation services and hotel stays related to moving these staff to Ottawa; and (b) for each individual reimbursement, what is the (i) total payout, (ii) cost for moving services, (iii) cost for hotel stays?