Debates of Dec. 9th, 2024

Question No.3102—

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada’s Criminal Code listing regime is an important tool for countering terrorism in Canada and globally, and is part of the government’s commitment to keep people in Canada safe. The listing of terrorist entities is a rigorous process, based on evidence, intelligence and the law, as a listing carries significant consequences. Throughout this process, any decision to designate as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code is based on solid and factual considerations.

The government remains concerned with the Houthis’ ongoing attacks against commercial and naval vessels transiting the Red Sea and surrounding waterways, which continue to threaten the lives of innocent mariners and global trade in one of the world’s most critical waterways. Houthi attacks have also endangered the lives of the Yemeni people as ships carrying aid have been targeted. Canada will continue to support the United States-led Operation Prosperity Guardian, alongside the United Kingdom, Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

In collaboration with allies and like-minded partners, the Government of Canada is exploring all possible measures to constrain the activities of those who would threaten the safety and security of Canadians.

Question No.3103—

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

With regard to the government's listing of Samidoun as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code: what specific action, if any, has the government taken since the listing to shut down Samidoun operations in Canada, including details and values of any assets seized to date from Samidoun, and details of any charges laid or other legal action taken to date against those who are aiding Samidoun in Canada?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, under the Criminal Code, financial institutions are not allowed to provide financial services to entities that meet the definition of a terrorist group, and must notify the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, CSIS, of the freeze. The RCMP federal policing national security's role is to conduct a review and determine if any enforcement actions are necessary. This requirement is not just a legal formality but a crucial part of the broader strategy to identify, disrupt and deter the financial streams that could potentially fund terrorist activities here and abroad.

The RCMP plays a central role in the terrorist listings enforcement framework, working in close collaboration with financial institutions to ensure these obligations are met effectively. This partnership is underpinned by a collaborative approach, whereby the RCMP does not merely act as an enforcer but also assists and educates financial entities on best practices for identifying and reporting suspicious activities. This includes offering guidance on compliance with the relevant laws and regulations, such as the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, and its associated regulations, which mandate the reporting of terrorist property.

In accordance with this framework, the RCMP was notified by financial institutions that accounts linked to Samidoun have been frozen, with the frozen assets remaining in the possession of the respective financial institutions. At this time, due to the low amount frozen, the RCMP has not initiated forfeiture proceedings under section 83.14 of the Criminal Code.

To date, no criminal charges have been laid by the RCMP in relation to the activities of Samidoun. The RCMP is not able to confirm or speak to any ongoing investigations against people or organizations with suspected or confirmed ties to Samidoun.

Question No.3104—

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

With regard to the government's listing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code effective on June 19, 2024: what specific action has the government taken since the listing to shut down IRGC operations in Canada, including details and values of any assets seized to date from the IRGC, and details of any charges laid or other legal action taken to date against those who are aiding the IRGC in Canada?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, under the Criminal Code, financial institutions are not allowed to provide financial services to entities that meet the definition of a terrorist group, and must notify the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, CSIS, of the freeze. The RCMP federal policing national security's role is to conduct a review and determine if any enforcement actions are necessary. This requirement is not just a legal formality but a crucial part of the broader strategy to identify, disrupt and deter the financial streams that could potentially fund terrorist activities here and abroad.

The RCMP plays a central role in the terrorist listings enforcement framework, working in close collaboration with financial institutions to ensure these obligations are met effectively. This partnership is underpinned by a collaborative approach, whereby the RCMP does not merely act as an enforcer but also assists and educates financial entities on best practices for identifying and reporting suspicious activities. This includes offering guidance on compliance with the relevant laws and regulations, such as the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, and its associated regulations, which mandate the reporting of terrorist property.

To date, no financial institutions have reported the freezing of any assets linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC, to the RCMP.

To date, no criminal charges have been laid by the RCMP in relation to the activities of the IRGC. The RCMP is not able to confirm or speak to any ongoing investigations against people or organizations with suspected or confirmed ties to the IRGC.

Question No.3108—

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

With regard to the Framework for Cooperation on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism between Canada and India, signed by the current government: (a) is the framework still in effect; (b) has any information been shared between the law enforcement or security agencies of Canada and India since June 18, 2023; and (c) was any information shared at any time between the law enforcement or security agencies of Canada and India regarding individuals who were subsequently murdered or who have faced credible threats against their life?

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and Special Advisor for Water]

Mr. Speaker, following the 15th meeting of the Canada-India Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, JWGCT, in February 2018, the Framework for Cooperation on Counter Terrorism was published through a joint statement. It remains in effect.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, RCMP, as the national police force, has the authority to share information with other international police forces to further investigations in accordance with existing policy and applicable legislations. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Act, with the Minister of Public Safety’s approval, also allows for information sharing with foreign partners, including police forces. The scope of sharing for all agencies depends on a number of requirements, including compliance with the Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities Act (ACMFEA). Given the specific mandate and operational requirements, and in order to protect the safety and security of Canadians, CSIS and the RCMP cannot disclose any details related to information sharing.

In order to respect and preserve the integrity of ongoing investigations and prosecutions, details related to co-operation between law enforcement and security agencies of Canada and India cannot be disclosed.

Question No.3112—

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

With regard to work permits issued under international agreements or arrangements, since September 20, 2023: (a) how many work permits were issued to foreign nationals performing work under (i) an agreement or arrangement between Canada and the government of a foreign state or an international organization, other than those concerning seasonal agricultural workers, (ii) an agreement entered into by one or more countries and by or on behalf of one or more provinces; (b) how many work permits in (a) were issued to individuals employed by the American Climate Corps; and (c) what are the details of all work permits in (b), including the (i) location of work, (ii) length of work, (iii) type of work being undertaken?

[Paul Chiang, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a)(i) and (ii), between September 20, 2023 and September 30, 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, or IRCC, has issued 12,298 work permits to foreign nationals performing work under an agreement or arrangement between Canada and the government of a foreign state or an international organization, other than those concerning seasonal agricultural workers. As per IRCC data release procedures, the cut-off date is put in place to allow for the preparation of complete, consistent and accurate reporting.

During this same time period, there were no work permits issued to foreign nationals with an agreement entered into by one or more countries and by or on behalf of one or more provinces.

With regard go (b) and (c), the department does not possess records relating to the American Climate Corps in the following fields: how many work permits were issued to individuals employed by the American Climate Corps and the details associated, including location of work, length of work and type of work being undertaken.

Question No.3113—

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

With regard to funding programs offered through Environment and Climate Change Canada, since September 20, 2023: (a) were any funding programs used to hire members of the American Climate Corps to undertake work in Canada; and (b) what are the details of each funding program identified in (a), including the (i) number of American Climate Corps workers hired, (ii) amount of funding allocated to hire American Climate Corps workers, (iii) name of the eligible group, organization or individual who received funding?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, Environment and Climate Change Canada has no funding program related to Q-3113.

Question No.3114—

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

With regard to the Sustainable Development Technology Canada fund from 2015 to present: (a) which companies were allotted funding; (b) how much funding was each company allotted; (c) what was the reasoning for allotting funding to each individual company; and (d) what are the results to date of each company's work?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), Sustainable Development Technology Canada, or SDTC, is an arm’s length organization that was created by an Act of Parliament in 2001 to provide funding to support Canadian companies with the potential to develop and demonstrate new environmental technologies that address climate change, clean air, clean water and clean soil. SDTC maintains a public list of active and inactive projects that have received funding from the organization since its creation, which is available at https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sdtc.ca%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F09%2FFunded-Project-Information-EN-as-of-Aug-31-2024.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK

With regard to (b), contribution amounts for SDTC projects are included in SDTC’s public project list, which is available at https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sdtc.ca%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F09%2FFunded-Project-Information-EN-as-of-Aug-31-2024.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK.

With regard to (c), projects allocated SDTC funding are required to meet specific eligibility criteria that is available on SDTC’s website.

The eligibility criteria for start-up and scale-up funding are available at https://www.sdtc.ca/en/start-up-scale-up-funding-application-guide/.

The eligibility criteria for seed funding are available at https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/GetUrlReputation.

With regard to (d), the project objectives, including expected environmental benefits, can be found in SDTC’s public project list, which is available at https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sdtc.ca%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F09%2FFunded-Project-Information-EN-as-of-Aug-31-2024.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK.

According to SDTC’s Annual report for 2022-2023, the total portfolio of SDTC-funded companies has, since 2001, generated an estimated 24,492 jobs, both direct and indirect, attributable to SDTC-funded projects; $3 billion in estimated annual revenues, attributable to SDTC supported technologies; and $13.27 billion in follow-on financing. SDTC-supported technologies have also reduced annual GHG emissions by an estimated 24.7 megatonnes of CO2e.

Question No.3115—

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

With regard to the $32.9 million non-competitive contract awarded in October 2022 to McKinsey, issued by the Trans Mountain Corporation: (a) what were the reasons behind awarding this non-competitive contract without justification; (b) what were the scope and results of McKinsey's work; (c) on what day did work by McKinsey begin; (d) on what day did work by McKinsey end; and (e) how were the contract funds spent?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), in accordance with Trans Mountain Corporation, or TMC, procurement policies, the contract was awarded to quickly identify cost savings and efficiencies in the construction of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project in the face of urgent construction season deadlines.

With regard to (b), he scope of the contract was to identify cost savings and efficiencies in construction of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project. For every dollar spent on this contract, $20.60 of cost savings were realized. Overall, over $700M in cost savings resulted from Trans Mountain’s cost and productivity program.

With regard to (c), TMC began its contract with the firm in October 2022.

With regard to (d), TMC ended its contract with the firm in November 2023.

With regard to (e), contract funds were spent on identifying cost savings and efficiencies in construction of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project. For every dollar spent on this contract, $20.60 of cost savings were realized. Overall, over $700M in cost savings resulted from Trans Mountain’s cost and productivity program.

Question No.3116—

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

With regard to the government's commitment to plant 2 billion trees by 2031: (a) what are the total expenditures to date in relation to the commitment; (b) how many trees have been planted to date; and (c) what is the projected number of trees to be planted under the commitment in (i) 2024, (ii) 2025, (iii) 2026, (iv) 2027, (v) 2028, (vi) 2029, (vii) 2030, (viii) 2031?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), from February 2021 to March 2024, the total expenditure for the 2 Billion Trees program was $267.7 million, namely $67.9 million in 2021-2022, $82.3 million in 2022-2023 and $117.5 million in 2023-2024. As of October 29, 2024, Natural Resources Canada, or NRCan, has spent/committed $176.9 million in signed Grants and Contributions agreements for fiscal year 2024-25.

With regard to (b), in the first three years of the program, which were 2021-2022 to 2023-2024, some 157 million trees were planted, and agreements signed or under negotiation are in place to plant 716 million trees towards the federal government’s commitment to plant 2 billion incremental trees over 10 years.

With regard to (c), on November 6, 2024, the 2 Billion Trees program released an update, stating that as of June 2024, the Government of Canada has signed or is negotiating commitments to plant over 716 million trees by March 2031.

Question No.3117—

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

With regard to the government's approach to the long-term drinking water advisories on public systems in First Nations communities, since December 11, 2017, broken down by department, agency, Crown corporation or other government entity: (a) does Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg (KZA) have safe-to-consume drinking water; (b) how many individuals remain affected by a lack of access to clean drinking water within KZA; (c) what areas of KZA have access to clean drinking water; (d) what is the government's plan to address a lack of access to clean drinking water in KZA; and (e) what is the timeline for the government's current plan of fixing a lack of access to clean drinking water within KZA?

[Jenica Atwin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services]

Mr. Speaker, for specific information on the status of water infrastructure in First Nations, the best source of information would be the First Nations themselves.

As of October 31, 2024, there are no long-term or short-term drinking water advisories affecting public water systems on-reserve in Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation. The last long-term drinking water advisory affecting public water systems on-reserves in Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation was lifted in December 2017.

As of October 31, 2024, there are no long-term or short-term drinking water advisories affecting public water systems on-reserve in Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

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

Madam Speaker, furthermore, if the government's responses to Questions Nos. 3099, 3100, 3105 to 3107, 3109 to 3111 and 3118 to 3121 could be made orders for returns, these returns would be tabled in an electronic format immediately.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Question No.3099—

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

With regard to the AgriScience Program, Projects Component: (a) how many applications have been (i) received, (ii) approved, since the program’s inception; (b) how much funding has been awarded to date, in total and broken down by sector (beef, dairy, pork, etc.) and by province or territory; (c) what are the details of all funding provided through the component to date, including, for each instance, the (i) date, (ii) amount, (iii) recipient, (iv) location, (v) project description or purpose of the funding; (d) what are the funding criteria and related formulas; and (e) what factors were used to determine the funding criteria and related formulas?

(Return tabled)

Question No.3100—

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

With regard to government information on the Canadian information and communication technology (ICT) sector: (a) how many Canadian registered companies, broken down by (i) size of the firm, (ii) revenue, (iii) sector, have been acquired by foreign entities each year since 2015; (b) what is the estimated GDP loss due to these acquisitions; (c) what is the estimated tax revenue loss due to these acquisitions; (d) has the government conducted studies and reported on the economic impact of the foreign acquisition of ICT companies on (i) Canadian employment in this sector, (ii) foreign influence, cyber security and Canadian privacy; (e) if the answer to (d)(i) or (d)(ii) is affirmative, where are these studies published and available to Canadian industry; (f) if the answer to (d)(i) or (d)(ii) is negative, why not; (g) what future studies is the government undertaking to consult with the ICT sector to determine causes and impacts of foreign acquisitions and effective policies to maintain economic growth and security in the Canadian ICT sector; and (h) for each study in (g), will the results be (i) made public, (ii) tabled in Parliament?