Diane Finley

[Questions on the Order Paper, May 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada purchased airtime during the broadcast of Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, 2014, for Public Safety Canada’s cyberbullying Campaign.

Public Safety Canada purchased two 30-second spots on the CTV national network and one 30-second spot on the RDS network.

The Government of Canada does not disclose information about the specific amounts paid for individual ad placements or the amounts paid to specific media outlets. In processing Parliamentary returns, the Government applies the Privacy Act and the principles set out in the Access to Information Act, and some information has been withheld on the grounds that the information is considered third party business sensitive.

[Public Works and Government Services, May 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we are very aware of our responsibilities to Canadian taxpayers.

That is why we took the necessary measures to identify the problems with contracting. I am pleased to say that we have recovered some money. We will award contracts and administer them effectively.

[Questions on the Order Paper, May 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada purchased airtime during the Canadian broadcast of the 86th Academy Awards on CTV, one 30-second spot for Finance Canada’s economic action plan campaign and one 30-second spot for Canada Revenue Agency’s tax relief measures campaign. The network aired one additional 30 second tax relief ad free of charge.

The Government of Canada does not disclose information about the specific amounts paid for individual ad placements or the amounts paid to specific media outlets. This information is considered third party business sensitive and is protected under paragraph 20(1)(b) of the Access to Information Act.

[National Defence, April 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, an independent panel ensured that the evaluation of the options to replace the CF-18s was rigorous and impartial, and that the results to be made public will be comprehensive and understandable.

Non-classified, non-commercially sensitive information that is contained in the evaluation of the options will be released.

[National Defence, April 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it was the Liberals who first launched the program to replace the F-18s. We are struggling to remedy the problems they created. That is why we launched a seven-point plan. We are working on that plan.

We had an independent panel of experts review and assess the risks of various options. Those parts of the report that are not commercially sensitive or restricted will be released.

[Public Works and Government Services, April 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, those portions of the panel report that do not contain commercially sensitive material will be released to the public. This is a report that was prepared by an impartial panel to review the options and assess the risks, and those portions that can be made public will indeed be made public.

[Public Works and Government Services, April 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, an independent panel ensured that the evaluation of the options was indeed rigorous and impartial and that the results, to be made public, will be comprehensive and understandable. Non-classified and non-commercially sensitive information contained in the evaluation of the options will be released.

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the trade agreements do not have limits on their national treatment provisions, which are obligations under the agreements. For procurement that is covered by the trade agreements, Canada cannot give preference to Canadian companies.

With regard to (b), for food procurements as well as for all other types of goods, the threshold for the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, is $25,200 Canadian—that is, procurement of food, when the estimated value is $25,200 Canadian or above, is subject to the agreement. The threshold for food procurement for all other international trade agreements is either the same as NAFTA's or higher. However, when food procurement is covered by any other international trade agreements, it is also covered by NAFTA, and the lowest applicable threshold is the one used to determine whether Canada, when doing a covered procurement, could give preference to Canadian companies.

With regard to (c), for food procurements and for all other types of goods, the threshold for the Agreement on Internal Trade is $25,000.

With regard to (d), procurement valued at $25,000 and over is subject to one or more trade agreements.

Over the past three fiscal years, or FY, the proportions of food procurement contracts signed by PWGSC and valued below $25,000 were as follows. In FY 2012-13, PWGSC awarded nine food procurement contracts valued below $25,000. The total value of these contracts was $112,494, which represents 0.64% of the $17,706,930 total value of all food contracts in that fiscal year.

In FY 2011-12, PWGSC awarded 11 food procurement contracts valued below $25,000. The total value of these contracts was $151,423, which represents 2.3% of the $6,536,876 total value of all food contracts in that fiscal year.

In FY 2010-11, PWGSC awarded 11 food procurement contracts valued below $25,000. The total value of these contracts was $169,636, which represents 0.53% of the $32,202,897 total value of all food contracts in that fiscal year.

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the current state of the telecommunications inventory as of January 28, 2014, is as follows: 194,418 traditional telephones, including voice over Internet protocol; 16,883 cellular telephones; 49,269 BlackBerry devices; 859 pagers; and 2,423 other smart phones.

The registration of telephone services and devices has been extended until February 28, 2014; as such, detailed analysis of service data will commence when the data collection phase of this activity has been completed.

With regard to (b), there have not been any suspensions of telephone lines as a result of this exercise to date. Any discontinuation of services will only occur following detailed analysis of the data collected and confirmation of the status of individual services with the SSC partner organizations.

[Public Works and Government Services, February 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, our government is very proud of the many successful military procurements that we have been able to achieve over the last several years, including new LAVs, heavy-lift aircraft, tactical-lift transporters, main battle tanks, and new heavy artillery.

The military lived under a decade of darkness under the Liberals prior to us forming government. We are delivering, as a priority, the equipment that our men and women in uniform need to do their jobs, and we will be doing it in a way that is responsible to taxpayers.