Debates of Sept. 18th, 2023

(Return tabled)

Question No.1620—

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

With regard to government expenditures on membership fees, broken down by department, agency, Crown corporation, or other government entity during the 2022-23 fiscal year: (a) what were the total expenditures; and (b) what are the details of each expenditure, including the (i) name of the entity for which the membership fee was paid, (ii) date of the purchase, (iii) amount, (iv) number of memberships purchased, (v) type of organization, if known (professional society, social club, golf club, etc.)?

(Return tabled)

Question No.1621—

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

With regard to wrapping or other advertising expenditures for the exteriors of buildings since April 1, 2019, broken down by department, agency, Crown corporation, or other government entity: (a) what is the total amount spent on wrapping or advertising, broken down by individual building; and (b) what are the details of all wrapping, tarp, or similar type of advertising on government buildings, broken down by individual building, including the (i) vendor, (ii) description of good or services provided, (iii) date, (iv) amount, (v) file number, (vi) address of the building, (vii) message on the wrapping or the summary of advertising campaign?

(Return tabled)

Question No.1622—

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

With regard to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office: (a) what is the current wait time between when a patent application is received and the patent is issued; (b) what was the wait time between when a patent application was received and the patent was issued as of (i) January 1, 2016, (ii) January 1, 2020; (c) what is the current backlog of patent applications in terms of the number of applications and projected wait time; (d) what is the breakdown of (c) by province or territory and by country the application originated from; and (e) for each of the four options listed under "4 options to expedite patent examination" on the government's websites, what is the current backlog in terms of the number of applications and projected wait time?

(Return tabled)

Question No.1626—

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

With regard to the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Program, broken down by federal electoral district since the program’s inception: (a) what is the number of applications (i) received, (ii) approved; (b) what is the average payment amount approved for each household; (c) what is the average length of time between the submission of an application and the receipt of funds; and (d) what is the estimated reduction in greenhouse gas emissions?

(Return tabled)

Question No.1627—

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

With regard to the Canada Pension Plan survivor's pension: (a) how many recipients are currently receiving the survivor's pension at the 60 percent level, in total and broken down by gender; (b) what is the total amount paid out in the last year to seniors receiving the survivor's pension at the 60 percent level; (c) what are the government's projections for (i) how many individuals will be eligible for survivor's pensions, both in total and broken down by gender, (ii) the total amount expected to be paid out to recipients, for each of the next five years; and (d) of those currently receiving the survivor's benefit at the 60 percent level, how many are living below the poverty level?

(Return tabled)

Question No.1628—

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

With regard to federal spending in the constituency of Hamilton Centre, in each fiscal year since 2015-16, inclusively: what are the details of all grants and contributions and all loans to any organization, group, business or municipality, broken down by the (i) name of the recipient, (ii) municipality in which the recipient is located, (iii) date 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.1629—

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

With regard to Development Finance Institute Canada (FinDev Canada): (a) broken down by fiscal year, starting with fiscal year 2018-19 to the present, what is the total amount of funds that the government, through all departments and agencies and available funding streams, provided to FinDev Canada; (b) were fund transfers publicly reported; (c) how would a member of the public find such public reporting; (d) which minister is responsible for direct oversight of FinDev Canada; (e) how does FinDev Canada communicate funding availability or calls for proposals to Canadian civil society organizations; (f) how does FinDev Canada publicly report its funded projects, including project summaries and anticipated outcomes; (g) what criteria, framework, or evaluation processes are used to evaluate a potential project’s funding application eligibility; (h) what role does the FinDev Canada’s Board of Directors play regarding the approval or rejection of project funding applications; (i) are there publicly available records of past and present votes by members of the board of directors regarding project funding approvals and rejections; (j) how are the funds’ end use (transferred to private equity funds, private banks, or other non-Government of Canada entities or organizations) reported; (k) how does FinDev Canada evaluate a potential project’s compliance with the Government of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, the OECD DAC’s Blended Finance Principles and its Guidance on Implementing those Principles, IFC Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability, ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, OECD Guidance on Responsible business conduct for institutional investors, OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises, and UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights; (l) what policies or guidelines does FinDev Canada have regarding the use of offshore financial centres (“tax havens”); (m) how does FinDev Canada communicate guidance concerning projects and project outcomes and human rights due diligence to companies, entities, or individuals that receive FinDev Canada funds or other support; (n) what redress processes are available to local communities, individuals or institutions negatively impacted by projects funded by FinDev Canada; (o) how many complaints have been received by FinDev Canada, Global Affairs Canada or other government departments about projects funded directly or indirectly by FinDev Canada; (p) how many of these complaints have involved human rights concerns, labour rights concerns, environmental concerns, or social impacts caused or related to projects funded by FinDev Canada; (q) how are received complaints investigated; (r) what actions were taken by FinDev, if any, following complaints received; (s) what access do affected communities have to FinDev’s Independent Accountability Mechanism; and (t) what reports by the Independent Accountability Mechanism are public?

(Return tabled)

Question No.1631—

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

With regard to surplus land owned by the government in census metropolitan areas: what are the details of all surplus land, including, for each piece of land, the (i) size, (ii) address, (iii) metropolitan area, (iv) description or type of land, (v) past use of land, if known, (vi) future planned use of land, if known?

(Return tabled)

Question No.1632—

[Earl Dreeshen, Conservative, Red Deer—Mountain View, AB]

With regard to the processing times for applications submitted to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, as of June 1, 2023: (a) what are the processing times for the temporary programs, broken down by month in 2023 for (i) study permits, (ii) work permits, (iii) temporary residents; and (b) what are the processing times for permanent residency programs, broken down by month in 2023 for (i) privately sponsored refugees, (ii) federal government assisted refugees, (iii) the live-in caregiver program, (iv) spouses and partners, (v) children and other family class applicants, (vi) parents and grandparents?

(Return tabled)

Question No.1633—

[Earl Dreeshen, Conservative, Red Deer—Mountain View, AB]

With regard to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada: what is the average age of accepted immigration applicants, broken down by each immigration stream?

(Return tabled)

Question No.1635—

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

With regard to citizenship court judges, and broken down by year for each of the last five years: (a) how many citizenships were reviewed by citizenship court judges; (b) how many citizenship court judges were there; (c) what are the renumeration details of citizenship judges, including salary and bonus ranges; (d) how many cases were heard and decisions rendered by the judges; (e) what were the total administrative costs associated with the citizenship court, broken down by type of cost; and (f) do citizenship judges preside over all citizenship commissions, and, if not, who presides over the commissions?

(Return tabled)

Question No.1636—

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

With regard to government contracts with vendors providing IT services to departments operating under the Treasury Board of Canada, broken down by fiscal year, since 2017-18, and by department: (a) what is the total number of contracts signed; (b) what are the details of all contracts signed, including the (i) vendor contracted, (ii) value of the contract, (iii) number of IT workers provided, (iv) duration of the contract; and (c) what is the total amount of extra costs incurred as a result of relying on IT vendors instead of employing IT workers directly?

(Return tabled)