Debates of June 11th, 2018

Question No. 1696

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

With regard to the investment of $3.3 million announced in Budget 2016 to support an in-depth assessment of VIA Rail’s high-frequency rail proposal and the additional investment of $8 million announced in Budget 2018 to support the continued in-depth assessment of VIA Rail’s high-frequency rail (HFR) proposal for the Quebec City-Windsor corridor: (a) how much of the $3.3 million and $8 million have been spent to date, broken down by (i) feasibility studies, (ii) contractors; (b) how many employees are assigned to the assessment; (c) has VIA Rail provided the government with studies on the high-frequency rail proposal; (d) if the answer in (c) is affirmative, will Transport Canada publish the entirety of these studies and their findings on its website; (e) how many studies and assessments have been conducted on this subject by Transport Canada to date and, if applicable, (i) what were the findings of each of these studies, (ii) will the entirety of these studies and their findings be published on Transport Canada’s website, (iii) what was the cost of each of these studies; (iv) when did Transport Canada conduct each of these studies; (f) why were the findings of the $3.3 million first phase of the assessment insufficient to approve funding for HFR; and (g) what data were missing from the $3.3 million first phase of the assessment that were required in order to fund HFR?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 1697

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

With regard to federal spending in the riding of Trois-Rivières, for each fiscal year since 2015-16, inclusively: what are the details of all grants and contributions and all loans to every organization, group, business or municipality, broken down by the (i) name of the recipient, (ii) municipality of the recipient, (iii) date on which the funding was received, (iv) amount received, (v) department or agency that provided the funding, (vi) program under which the grant, contribution or loan was made, (vii) nature or purpose?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 1698

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

With regard to the monitoring of the safety management systems of federally regulated railway companies and rail safety between 2006 and 2017, broken down by year: (a) what is the total number of audits completed; (b) what is the target number of audits required by the Transport Canada policy; (c) how many non-federally-regulated railway companies were targeted by the audits; (d) what is the number of inspectors qualified to conduct the audits; (e) what is the number of managers and inspectors who have completed the course on the audit approach; (f) what was the deficiency rate across the federally regulated rail industry; (g) how many times did inspectors encourage voluntary compliance; (h) how many letters of safety concern, letters of non-compliance, notices or notices and orders as interim measures to reduce threats or immediate threats to safe railway operations were issued by inspectors; (i) how many prosecutions for serious violations have inspectors participated in; (j) how many letters of warning were issued by inspectors; (k) how many notices or notices and orders were issued by inspectors to local railway companies; (l) how many notices or notices and orders were issued to federally regulated railway companies; (m) how many local railway companies failed to comply with a notice; (n) how many federally regulated railway companies failed to comply with a notice; (o) how many exemptions from the application of regulations were accepted by Transport Canada for local railway companies; (p) how many threats under the Rail Safety Act were identified by inspectors; (q) how many serious threats under the Rail Safety Act were identified by inspectors; (r) how many in-service rail failures were identified by inspectors; (s) how many in-service joint pull aparts were identified by inspectors; (t) how many broken or cracked wheels found on a train in a yard or in a repair facility were identified by inspectors; (u) how many deviations from the defective rail standards in the Rules Respecting Track Safety were identified using rail flaw testing activities; and (v) what is the average number of inspectors assigned to the monitoring and inspection of each tank car?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 1699

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

With regard to registered charities that indirectly fund Canadian political activity or campaigns through foreign or third party entities: what specific action to stop such funding is being taken by (i) the Canada Revenue Agency, (ii) Elections Canada?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 1700

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, SK]

With regard to the invitation extended to Vikram Vij to travel to India in relation to the Prime Minister’s trip in February 2018: (a) on what date did the government invite Mr. Vij to travel to India as part of the Prime Minister’s trip; (b) what were the start and end dates of Mr. Vij’s term on the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments; and (c) was Mr. Vij a member of the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments when the government invited him to be a part of the Prime Minister’s trip to India?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 1701

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, SK]

With regard to interactions between the government and Canada 2020, since November 4, 2015: (a) has anyone from the government advised or recommended that any individual or corporation attend a Canada 2020 event; and (b) if the answer to (a) is affirmative, what are the details of all such interactions, including (i) individual providing advice or recommendation, (ii) recipient, (iii) date and title of related Canada 2020 event?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 1702

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

With regard to the Main Estimates 2018-19: of the $82.29 billion for operating and capital expenditures (including the Treasury Board Budget Implementation vote), how much comes from statutory authorities and how much is dependent upon voted authorities?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 1704

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

With regard to the government’s decision to deploy Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) equipment and personnel to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali: (a) how many CAF personnel will be deployed to the mission, (i) what unit do these personnel belong to, (ii) what trade do these personnel belong to in the CAF; (b) what CAF assets will be deployed to the mission; (c) what is the estimated cost of the mission; (d) what is the duration of Canada’s military commitment to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali; (e) will CAF personnel or assets be assisting in G5 Sahel operations within Mali; (f) will CAF personnel or equipment assist in counter-terrorism operations while in Mali; and (g) will Canadian personnel deployed to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali ever be in the position to receive orders from individuals outside the CAF chain of command?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 1705

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

With regard to the approval of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Project and the work of the Ministerial Review Panel appointed by the government in this matter: (a) can construction of a new Trans Mountain Pipeline be reconciled with Canada’s climate change commitments; (b) in the absence of a comprehensive national energy strategy, how can policy-makers effectively assess projects such as the Trans Mountain Pipeline; (c) how might Cabinet square approval of the Trans Mountain Pipeline with its commitment to reconciliation with First Nations and to the UNDRIP principles of “free, prior, and informed consent”; (d) given the changed economic and political circumstances, the perceived flaws in the National Energy Board process, and also the criticism of the Ministerial Panel’s own review, how can Canada be confident in its assessment of the project’s economic rewards and risks; (e) if approved, what route would best serve aquifer, municipal, aquatic and marine safety; and (f) how does federal policy define the terms “social licence” and “Canadian public interest” and their inter-relationships?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 1706

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

With regard to authorizations to transport firearms issued in each province and territory by Chief Firearms Officers, for the last ten years, broken down by year: (a) how many authorizations to transport were (i) issued, (ii) refused, (iii) revoked, (iv) resulted in criminal charges, (v) resulted in firearms licenses being revoked, (vi) resulted in firearms being seized; and (b) how many full time equivalents were involved in the processing, administration and enforcement?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 1707

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

With regard to statistics on firearms seized by police for the last five years, broken down by province or territory: (a) what was the total number of firearms seized, broken down by classification (non-restricted, restricted, prohibited); (b) of the firearms in (a), how many were identified as used in the commission of an indictable offence, broken down by classification; (c) for the firearms in (a) and (b), how many were (i) registered, (ii) unregistered, (iii) domestically sourced, (iv) smuggled into Canada, (v) located and identified using the Canadian Firearms Information System (CFIS), (vi) traced to their source by the Canadian National Firearms Tracing Centre (CNFTC); (d) of the number of firearms identified in (a), how many were seized from a licenced firearms owner; and (e) of the number of licenced firearms owners identified in (b), how many were (i) charged with the indictable offence for which the firearm was used, (ii) charged with providing a firearm to the persons charged with the indictable offence for which the firearm was used, (iii) charged with ‘careless storage’ of their firearm after having their firearm stolen from them?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 1708-

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

With regard to firearms licences issued in each province and territory for the last ten years, broken down by year: (a) how many Possession and Acquisition Licences (PAL) were (i) issued, (ii) revoked by reason for revocation; (b) how many Restricted Possession and Acquisition Licences (RPAL) were (i) issued, (ii) revoked by reason for revocation; (c) what is the average time for government or police to confiscate revoked firearms licences for (i) PAL, (ii) RPAL; and (d) what is the average time for government or police to confiscate the firearms possessed by revoked firearms licence holders for (i) PAL, (ii) RPAL?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 1709

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

With regard to the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) practice of withholding transfer or benefit payments from the Government of Canada or provincial or territorial governments to taxpayers who owe taxes payable (tax debts), and instead applying the balances of such payments to such tax debts: (a) for 2016, 2017, and 2018, broken down by year, how many federal transfer or benefit payments were applied to tax debts; (b) for each year in (a), how many provincial or territorial transfer or benefit payments were applied to tax debts; (c) which federal transfer or benefit payments may CRA withhold and apply to tax debts; (d) which provincial or territorial transfer or benefit payments may CRA withhold and apply to tax debts; (e) which, if any, federal or provincial or territorial transfer or benefit payments are exempt from withholding and application to tax debt; (f) for each year in (a) what total amount of overall transfer or benefit payments did CRA withhold and apply to tax debts; (g) for each year in (a), how many transfer or benefit payments did CRA withhold and apply to tax debts before the deadline for paying taxes owing; (h) is the practice in (g) of withholding and applying transfer or benefit payments to tax debts before the deadline for paying taxes owing legal; (i) if the practice in (g) of withholding and applying transfer or benefit payments to tax debts before the deadline for paying taxes owing is legal, which section of which statute permits it; (j) for each year in (a) in which CRA withheld and applied transfer or benefit payments to tax debts before the deadline for paying taxes owing, how many tax debts to which such payments were applied did taxpayers pay in full by or on the deadline, such that an overpayment resulted; (k) for each year in (a), how many overpayments in (j) did CRA refund to the applicable taxpayers; and (l) for each year in (a), how many transfer or benefit payments which CRA withheld and applied to a tax debt which resulted in an overpayment in (j) did CRA retain to apply to taxes owing in the future?