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Friday, March 13, 2009 (No. 30)

Questions

The complete list of questions on the Order Paper is available for consultation at the Table in the Chamber and on the Internet. Those questions not appearing in the list have been answered, withdrawn or made into orders for return.

Q-2 — January 26, 2009 — — With regard to federal spending, how much financial support, both capital and otherwise, was given to individual airports over the last three fiscal years (2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008) in each federal riding?

Q-3 — January 26, 2009 — — With respect to the government's hospitality spending: (a) how much did the government spend on the purchase of alcoholic drinks for hospitality purposes including wine, beer and hard liquor, during receptions and other similar events, such as lunches, dinners, meetings, and all such similar gatherings, hosted in the Parliamentary precinct, for the fiscal year 2007-2008; and (b) what departmental measures are in place to monitor expenditures on alcohol at public expense?

Q-13 — January 26, 2009 — — With respect to the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP), when will the government have the necessary administrative mechanisms in place so that Canadians can benefit from the RDSP program?

Q-14 — January 26, 2009 — — With respect to gas and diesel prices: (a) is the government planning to implement the Energy Cost Benefit program, announced in October 2005; (b) what measures is the government implementing to build a greener economy, promote transparency in markets, promote alternative energy sources and improve fuel economy; (c) what steps will the government take to greater transparency in markets, fuel efficiency improvements and fuel alternatives; (d) is the government planning to index both the old age security pension and the Guaranteed Income Supplement payments to offset the increasing gas prices; and (e) what is the government’s specific plan with respect to research investments to develop renewable and alternative fuels, such as cellulose-based ethanol and hydrogen-based fuels, to reduce Canadians’ reliance on global fuel markets?

Q-15 — January 26, 2009 — — With respect to religious freedom around the world: (a) will the government recognize that religious persecution is an international crisis affecting many religious groups in the world; (b) will the government develop an automatic array of interventions that may be imposed by Canada against foreign governments, such as Iraq, that may support religious persecution or fail to prevent it; and (c) what steps is the government prepared to take to improve measures for refugees who have suffered religious persecution?

Q-35 — January 27, 2009 — — With respect to the City of Hamilton's legal action against the government over the environmental assessment of the Red Hill Creek Expressway: (a) what is the amount of money spent by the government on this action to date; (b) what is the current status of the legal action; and (c) which documents filed with the court from either party can be accessed by the public and made available?

Q-38 — January 28, 2009 — — With regards to the $33 billion Building Canada plan announced in Budget 2007: (a) what are the total federal funds committed for expenditure, as well as the amount effectively spent, to Canadian municipalities, through the Building Canada plan, per year, since its inception; (b) who are the recipients of these funds, what is the breakdown for every province and territory, as well as the criteria used for allocating these funds; and (c) what are the changes to the allocation criteria in Budget 2009?

Q-39² — January 29, 2009 — — With regard to water bottled and sold in Canada: (a) how does the government ensure the quality and safety of this food product; (b) does the government regularly send federal inspectors into all water-bottling plants to test bottling processes and product samples and, if so, how many times per year do inspectors visit a given bottling plant and how many inspectors are currently available for plant inspections; (c) how many inspectors were available in February 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively; (d) is a water bottling company required to report to the government the contamination of its product detected by internal testing procedures; (e) is the company required to inform the public and conduct a product recall; (f) how are quality standards for bottled water set in Canada; (g) are standards simply imported from other countries, such as the United States, or are standards developed in Canada for the Canadian market; and (h) what is the relationship between federal bottled-water quality standards and municipal drinking-water standards in Canada?

Q-40² — January 29, 2009 — — With respect to caffeinated energy drinks: (a) what does the term energy drink mean, and what Canadian regulatory agencies recognize the term; (b) what are the brands sold in Canada, what is the caffeine, guarana, and taurine content and concentration, if applicable, for each, and what regulations the brands passed; (c) what is the content and warning labels for each of the brands, and how do they compare with international standards, such as the European Union and the United States; (d) what are the pre-mixed caffeine-alcohol drinks, the caffeine and alcohol content and concentration, and the regulations passed; (e) what is the scientific evidence for the positive benefit claims; (f) what pre-existing health conditions might make adolescents more susceptible or more at risk to caffeinated energy drinks; (g) what are the acute and long-term effects resulting from chronic and excessive consumption of energy drinks; (h) what are the acute and chronic long-term effects of consumption of caffeine in combination with other substances, such as alcohol, B vitamins, herbal derivatives, nicotinamide, pyridoxine, riboflavin, and taurine; (i) what is the safe daily amount of caffeine, and caffeine and taurine, for adolescents, aged 12-18 years; (j) were there any deaths that have been, in part, linked to consumption of energy drinks in Australia, Canada, the European Union, and the United States and, is so, in each case, what was the drink, the content and the concentration of caffeine and the number of drinks consumed; (k) what are the top-selling brands as well as pre-mixed caffeine-alcohol drinks, and what is the total retail market value for each in Canada; (l) what studies have been undertaken regarding adolescent use, adverse effects, and mixing with alcohol; (m) what are the impacts of caffeine-alcohol interactions, and what might this mean for abuse, drunk-driving, or injury; (n) has caffeine overdose been increasing among caffeine abstainers as well as habitual users in Canada; (o) what, if any, cases of caffeine abuse from caffeinated energy drinks have been reported to Canadian poison centres, and how do these data compare to the European Union and the United States; (p) what measures have been taken to warn the public regarding the adverse health effects, including caffeine intoxification, caffeine dependence and withdrawal; (q) what measures have been taken to warn children and adolescents, who do not use caffeine regularly, regarding possible adverse health effects; (r) what restrictions have been placed on aggressive marketing to youth and inexperienced users, and what mechanisms are in place to ensure compliance; and (s) what measures have been taken to inform medical practitioners regarding the potential health consequences of consumption of energy drinks?

Q-41² — January 29, 2009 — — With regard to the costs of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games: (a) what are the direct costs, past and planned, in grants and transfers to the Province of British Columbia (BC) or the governments of any municipalities therein from the federal government; (b) will the federal government be making any financial contribution to the 2010 Olympic Games by way of loans to the BC government or the governments of any municipalities therein and, if so, have these loans already been issued and what are the current and projected total amount of any loans issued by the federal government in this matter; (c) given the existing cost overrun from the 2003 bid forecast, will or has the federal government been providing financial assistance in any way either through direct grants, transfers or loans to the provincial government of BC or the governments of any municipalities therein to cover any additional cost overruns; (d) will the BC government be solely responsible for any additional cost overruns; (e) what are the direct costs in grants and transfers to all non-governmental entities, organizations, committees and agencies associated with the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games from the federal government; (f) what are the indirect costs to the federal government for the 2010 Olympic Games including (i) direct payment and transfers to the BC provincial government or the governments of any municipalities therein in terms of transportation, logistics and salary costs associated with private and RCMP security for the Games, (ii) military security costs for transportation and logistical costs associated with all military security provided for the 2010 Olympic Games; (g) what are other infrastructure costs being born by the federal government including construction, renovation, expansion or improvements of buildings, highways, public transportation or transportation for athletes associated with the 2010 Games; and (h) what is the best government estimate at this time for the total cost of the 2010 Games to the federal government taking into consideration all aforementioned direct and indirect expenses?

Q-43^1-2 — January 29, 2009 — — With respect to the Toronto Port Authority, will the government order the release of the hospitality and travel expenses incurred in London last winter by its former CEO and, if so, what were those expenses?

Q-44² — January 30, 2009 — — With regards to federal funding for the Mackenzie Valley Natural Gas Project announced by the Minister of the Environment on January 19, 2009, in detail: (a) what is the amount of funding the government is offering the project proponents; (b) what is the rationale for providing this funding; (c) what will the funding be used for; and (d) what short, medium and long term benefits will accrue to Northern Canadians?

Q-45² — February 2, 2009 — — With respect to Canada's mission in Afghanistan and the use of cluster munitions by Canadian Forces: (a) does Canada use cluster munitions in its military operations; (b) do any of Canada's allies use cluster munitions in areas where the Canadian military is operating; (c) have cluster munitions been used by Canada or its allies in Afghanistan and, if so, when, and does this practice continue; (d) what assurances exist to ensure that cluster munitions are not used by Canada or its allies in Afghanistan; (e) are there any agreements between Canada and its allies explicitly prohibiting the use of cluster munitions in joint operations; (f) are there any agreements between Canada and its allies explicitly prohibiting the use of cluster munitions in Afghanistan; (g) are there any agreements between Canada and its allies prohibiting the use of certain military tactics or weapons; (h) have cluster munitions ever been deployed by Canada or its allies in past joint military operations; (i) has Canada ever negotiated guidelines for the prohibition of certain weapons in joint operations; (j) what is the government's definition of what constitutes an acceptable success rate for self-destruction mechanisms and precision guidance systems for cluster munitions; (k) how was this acceptable rate of success arrived at; (l) has the Canadian Forces destroyed all existing stockpiles of cluster munitions in its arsenal and, if not, why not; and (m) does Canada intend to procure munitions in the future?

Q-46² — February 2, 2009 — — With respect to the case JOHN GUENETTE and JOANNA GUALTIERI v. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA, FRANK TOWNSON, et al. and also the case JOANNA GUALTIERI v. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA, FRANK TOWNSON, et al.: (a) what are the total expenditures of the government with regard to these cases including, but not limited to, all legal fees, monitoring the progress and impact on public opinion of the case, in preparing communications strategies, and in preparing briefing packages for officials and ministers, on an annual basis, broken down by expenditure item; and (b) with respect to the figures in (a), how much was spent annually, on a departmental or agency basis?

Q-47² — February 2, 2009 — — With respect to Canada's military imports and exports: (a) did Canada import any products from the United Kingdom between October and December 2007 containing depleted uranium and, if so, what were these products and what were their end uses; and (b) has Canada imported any products containing depleted uranium from 2007 to 2008 from other countries and, if so, what products and from which countries?

Q-48² — February 3, 2009 — — With regards to spending and allocation by all government departments and agencies for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games an all activities relating to it: (a) what is the exact amount of money that has and will be spent or allocated for the purposes of security for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, including specifically, but not limited to, money allocated for the RCMP, local police forces, the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit, private security firms and block transfers to the Province of British Columbia for similar purposes; (b) what was the exact amount of money spent by the RCMP on its contract with Cruise Connections Charter Management of North Carolina, dated June 20, 2008; (c) what is the full and exact amount of travel expenses claimed, including specifically, but not limited to, airfare and accommodation, broken down by individual and each specific claim, of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, to date; (d) how many total RCMP and private security personnel will be detached to provide security services for the Games; (e) how many total Canadian Forces (CF) personnel will be employed to provide security services for the Games; (f) how many of these CF personnel are reservists; (g) how many of these CF personnel are regular forces personnel; and (h) what are the total anticipated salary costs of all CF personnel who are currently or will be tasked with providing security or logistical services for the 2010 Games?

Q-49² — February 3, 2009 — — With regard to the issue of water contaminated by trichlorethylene in the Municipality of Shannon, Quebec: (a) how widespread, according to a National Defence report, is the contamination of the water in the Québec City region; (b) how much is the government planning to invest to complete the work on the aqueduct; and (c) what other measures does the government plan to take to come to the aid of the people of Shannon?

Q-50² — February 4, 2009 — — With regard to Canadian private television broadcasters: (a) what is the current estimated financial value of the benefits that Canadian private broadcasters derive from the laws and regulations of the government, including, but not limited to, simultaneous substitution, tax write-off exclusions for Canadian companies advertisements on U.S. broadcasters, and protection from foreign competition; (b) what is the estimated financial value of these benefits for each private broadcaster; (c) what are the cumulative and individual statistics of their Canadian programming that are more recent than fall 2006 from the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement’s (BBM) television diary or more recent than 2006 from the BBM’s meter survey; (d) what are the most recent cumulative and individual statistics on the percentage of Canadian programming shown during primetime; (e) what are the most recent cumulative and individual statistics on the breakdown of the type of Canadian programming that is being shown during and outside of primetime; and (f) what is the government’s plan for promoting Canadian programming in the future and what specific initiatives are being planned to guarantee a healthy future for Canadian programming on private broadcasters?

Q-51² — February 4, 2009 — — With respect to on-reserve educational facilities for First Nations in Canada: (a) what requests for capital building expenditure funding, for the purposes of acquiring, building, expanding, improving or replacing educational facilities have been made from April 1, 2005 to present; (b) which of these requests have been granted by the government and why; (c) which of these requests were denied and why; (d) what funds have been committed by the government for capital building expenditure for the purposes of acquiring, building, expanding, improving or replacing educational facilities on-reserve, in each fiscal year from 2005-2006 to 2009-2010, broken down by region; (e) how much of the funding allocated in part (d) has been spent as of December 31, 2008, broken down by region; (f) how much of the funding allocated in part (d) was diverted for other projects, either within Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) or to other government departments, broken down by region; (g) what projects are currently under way; (h) what projects are slated to begin work in the 2009-2010 fiscal year; (i) what are the values of each of these projects; (j) what portion of the total cost of these projects is being funded by INAC through capital building infrastructure; (k) how many projects included additional money from First Nations to complete the construction or equipping of an educational facility; (l) what projects are slated to begin work beyond the 2009-2010 fiscal year; (m) how many communities with projects identified by INAC as priority capital projects have received letters of approval issued to them; (n) since 2005, what amounts from the "Community Infrastructure" line item have been reallocated either within INAC or to other government departments; (o) how has this reallocation of funds affected on-reserve educational facilities; (p) how was this money otherwise spent by the government; (q) which projects, specifically, are the government referring to on page 147 of the 2009 budget document as 10 new school projects and 3 renovation projects; (r) if these 13 projects are not yet determined, what projects are currently being considered for funding; (s) what is the status of the Attawapiskat elementary school construction; (t) how many schools are considered a higher priority by INAC than Attawapiskat; (u) does the government consider the construction of a school in Attawapiskat to be “ready to go” in the same way that the phrase is used on page 21 of the 2009 budget document; and (v) what is required from First Nations communities by INAC and the Treasury Board Secretariat to have their school construction projects considered “ready to go.”?

Q-52² — February 9, 2009 — — With regards to public-private partnerships (P3s or PFIs): (a) what is the government’s overall policy on their use; (b) how many government contracts since January 2006 have involved P3s, and for each project, what are the names of these projects, who are the partners, how much money did the federal government contribute, how much money did other levels of government contribute and how much money did each private partner contribute; (c) what problems in general have the government identified with the use of P3s; (d) what precautions have the government taken to ensure that P3s represent value for money for taxpayers; (e) what measures has the government taken to ensure that the terms and conditions of P3s are honoured by private sector participants; (f) were there any lessons learned exercises or evaluations conducted with respect to any particular P3 project and, if so, what were the results of these evaluations; (g) has the government conducted studies on the use of P3s in other countries and, if so, what were the results of these studies; (h) has the government invested in P3 projects in British Columbia; and (i) does the government have a minimum contribution or minimum percentage required from the private sector?

Q-53² — February 9, 2009 — — With regard to the Asia-Pacific Gateway project in British Columbia: (a) how much money has the government contributed to this project since its inception, broken down by financial quarter and department; (b) has the government conducted any studies into the impact or effectiveness of the project, including but not limited to environmental issues, congestion and traffic circulation, neighbourhood effects and housing prices and, if so, what are these studies; (c) what is the government’s overall position on the Gateway project; (d) has the government identified any concerns with regard to the project and, if so, what are these concerns; and (e) which groups has the government consulted with regard to the project?

Q-54² — February 10, 2009 — — With regard to government-owned buildings: (a) how many buildings does the government own by region and territory; (b) what are the annual utility costs including electricity, water, heating and cooling costs for these building by province or territory; (c) what are the overall energy costs for government-owned buildings by province or territory, including all energy uses; (d) what government initiatives exist for improving energy efficiency in government buildings; (e) how many government-owned buildings have been retrofitted in order to improve their energy efficiency in the last 25 years; (f) how many buildings have achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design recognition for new construction and for existing buildings; (g) what studies and evaluations with respect to improving energy efficiency in government-owned buildings have been requested or commissioned by any department before January 27, 2009; (h) how much has the government spent on these studies, by study; and (i) what analysis has been done by the government or on its behalf regarding potential cost savings on energy costs if energy efficiency retrofits were conducted on some or all government-owned buildings?

Q-55² — February 10, 2009 — — With respect to Health Canada’s Women’s Health Contribution Program and the Centres of Excellence for Children’s Well Being: (a) is the Minister of Health going to submit a new submission to Treasury Board that would extend the mandate for funding that is expected to expire on March 31, 2009; and (b) will the government show a renewed commitment to these centres by granting permanent funding?

Q-56² — February 10, 2009 — — With respect to health human resources: (a) how will the government address the issues of doctor shortages, wait times, access and hospital closures; (b) is there a strategy to address the brain drain of doctors, nurses and researchers to the United States; and (c) what are the prospects of a health human resources fund to encourage partnerships between health faculties in the universities and colleges and the academic health science centres that would immediately create more training spaces?

Q-57² — February 10, 2009 — — With respect to the Public Health Goals agreed to at the September 2004 First Ministers' Meeting and developed in 2005, has the government continued to work with provincial and territorial governments to develop the targets and indicators as part of the Public Health Goals process?

Q-58² — February 19, 2009 — — With respect to the Participation Activity and Limitation Survey (PALS), as part of the Canadian Census: is the government planning on withdrawing support for the PALS being part of the upcoming census?

Q-59² — February 19, 2009 — — Did the government intervene in any way in the complaint against Dr. John O'Connor of Fort Chipewyan in Alberta, laid before the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons and, if so, (i) in which way, (ii) for what reasons, and (iii) which departments were involved?

Q-60² — February 19, 2009 — — With respect to the purchase and provision of single-use water bottles and water coolers by the government over the last five years: (a) (i) what are the total government expenditures for bottled water on an annual basis, as well as over a five year period, (ii) on an annual basis, what amount is spent by each department; (b) (i) with respect to the above figures, how much was spent annually, on a departmental or agency basis, in the National Capital Region, (ii) what was the breakdown by province for such services; and (c) by province, what is the number of Government of Canada employees, and the number of drinking water fountains that service these employees?

Q-61² — February 19, 2009 — — With respect to the Toronto Port Authority, will the government order the release of the hospitality and travel expenses incurred in the last two years (2007, 2008) by its former CEO and, if so, what were those expenses?

Q-62² — February 24, 2009 — — With respect to funds for infrastructure spending in Budget 2009: (a) what funds are new funds and what funds are carried over from Budget 2008 and previous years; (b) when will infrastructure funds be available to municipalities and provinces, (i) what will the application process be, (ii) how will the process differ from regularly budgeted funds, (iii) what steps is the government taking to ensure the application process is not redundant, (iv) what steps is the government taking to ensure the protection of environmental assessments, (v) what steps is the government taking to ensure the process is equitable across municipalities, (vi) what departments will be responsible for the funds, (vii) when do funds revert back to federal projects; (c) are there population restrictions for some or all parts of the program, and are there other restrictions that apply; (d) what new funds will require public-private partnerships; and (e) what funding will require cost-sharing with the provinces and municipalities, and are any infrastructure funds available without the requirement of cost-sharing?

Q-63² — February 24, 2009 — — With respect to the official provider of uniforms and clothing for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games: (a) what was the selection process; (b) which companies submitted bids to provide these products to Canadian athletes and the Canadian public; (c) how was the decision made to select the Hudson’s Bay Corporation as the provider of official uniforms and clothing; (d) what consideration was provided for the selection of a Canadian owned company to provide the clothing; (e) what consideration was provided to companies who would manufacture the products fully in Canada; (f) what rationale can be provided for the selection of a foreign owned company who will produce the products outside of Canada; and (g) in the future, will there be an attempt from the government to further support the Canadian industry in the selection process for future Canadian Olympic clothing by selecting a Canadian company who will manufacture their product in Canada?

Q-64² — February 25, 2009 — — With regard to the $212 million dedicated to the Champlain Bridge, in the Montreal region, in Budget 2009: (a) does the government have a long term plan to spend the money, (i) if so, what is the full breakdown per year for the dispersal of funding and to what projects on the bridge they are being spent with a timeline for completion, (ii) if no, does the government intend to consult with local municipalities being directly affected by the deteriorating condition and safety concerns of the bridge while developing a comprehensive rehabilitation plan; (b) is the money slated to extend the life expectancy of the bridge and, if so, by how long; (c) will the money be spent on structural rehabilitation repairs such as the reconstruction of major support devises or for cosmetic repairs such as paint and resurfacing; (d) how does the government plan to rehabilitate the bridge while allowing normal traffic volume to proceed in both directions, especially during peak hours; and (e) is any component of a light rail system being developed under this funding?

Q-65² — February 25, 2009 — — With respect to the third party management (TPM) of First Nations by Indian and Northern Affairs (INAC), with specific reference to only those managed by the Northern Ontario office over the last ten years: (a) how many First Nations reserves have been operating under TPM, for how long, which reserves have been so designated and for each of the reserves listed, who acts as their third party manager; (b) according to each band council, on what date did each agreement come into force, what was the amount of debt they held at the time, what debt repayment plan was put into effect for each and what is the current amount of outstanding debt held by each band council; (c) what requirements must be met by a band council to get out of TPM, who determines those requirements, how many bands have met those requirements and when; (d) how many audits has INAC, or its designated proxies, undertaken with respect to TPMs and their direction of First Nations bands, (i) on what date were such audits prepared, (ii) by whom, (iii) with respect to the management of which bands, (iv) what were the key findings of each audit, (v) what recommendations were implemented, (vi) has any audit resulted in the termination or non-renewal of the contract between the TPM and INAC, if so, which ones and why, (vii) has any audit warranted a police investigation, if so, which ones and what was the outcome; (e) according to each community operating under TPM, (i) what management or other fees were charged, on a monthly and annual basis, (ii) for what were the fees charged, (iii) have any TPMs received extra commissions, bonuses or any other financial reward for their work and, if so, on what date were such monies awarded, for what, and to which TPMs, (iv) what percentage of each band’s operating budget do such costs represent, on a monthly and annual basis; (f) how many contracts (separate of TPMs agreements) have been awarded by INAC, or a TPM acting on a First Nation’s behalf, to LTL Construction, Shuniah Financial Services or Mekena Project Management Group, what was the amount of each contract, the date awarded and the intended service; (g) what legal or professional requirements does a company have to meet to become a TPM; (h) what tendering process is followed in the awarding of TPM contracts, do INAC staff have any discretionary powers in awarding a TPM and, if so, who has that power and under what circumstances; (i) with specific reference to the Gull Bay First Nation, how many third party managers have presided over their financial affairs during the above-mentioned period, what are the terms and conditions of each contract, what management fees, bonuses or commissions were paid to these parties and who were the principal officers of each TPM; and (j) for what reasons is Shuniah Financial Services no longer acting as Gull Bay’s TPM?

Q-66² — February 25, 2009 — — With respect to Assisted Human Reproduction Canada, for the 2008-2009 fiscal year: (a) how much money has been spent do date; (b) how much money will be spent by the end of the fiscal year; (c) for what specific line item was this money spent; (d) what portion of this money, in detail, was spent on hospitality, transportation, travel or liaising with stakeholders?

Q-67² — February 26, 2009 — — With regards to residential schools: (a) what are the (i) names, (ii) locations, (iii) former church, charitable, or other operators, (iv) years of operation of all residential or other schools which were excluded from the Indian Residential Schools Agreement; (b) how many former residents or other students of each school are estimated to be living; and (c) what specific steps has the government taken, and with which provinces, towards pursuing bilateral agreements to address the issues raised by, or in relation to, the attendance of Aboriginal people at schools not covered by the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement?

Q-68² — February 26, 2009 — — With respect to government television commercials which promote Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSA): (a) why are financial advisors not included in the list of possible ways to open an TFSAs; (b) how much did it cost to produce these commercials and to air them; (c) how often are the commercials aired; and (d) will future commercials include a reference to financial advisors?

Q-69² — March 2, 2009 — — Regarding requests for financial assistance made to the Economic Development Agency of Canada for Quebec Regions for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 financial years, by regional office, how many requests were approved and how many were rejected when submitted for the authorization of (i) the Regional Director, (ii) the General Director for Regional Coordination, (iii) the Vice-President for Operations, (iv) the President, (v) the Minister?

Q-70² — March 3, 2009 — — With regard to large information technology projects, and specifically the four pillars of the Shared Services Initiative: (a) has the government prepared a detailed plan accompanied by schedules to explain how it will proceed with the implementation of these major projects, (i) if so, what are the details of this plan, (ii) if not, what are the reasons for the non-existence of such a document; (b) for each of the pillars, (i) which departments are potential clients, (ii) what is the project’s estimated value (estimated minimum to estimated maximum), (iii) what is the description of each project, (iv) what are the key success factors, (v) what are the advantages and estimated costs, (vi) what is the department’s organizational capacity, (vii) what is the planned project launch date for the invitations to tender, (viii) will the contract be awarded to one supplier or several, (ix) for these long-term contracts, what means does the government have to change suppliers once the project is under way; and (c) with regards to the process for implementing major projects, (i) what are the details of the business plan that was used to justify the projects, (ii) was an independent review done on the business plan and, if so, which individuals or organizations were part of it, (iii) what are the details of the impact studies on the small and medium-sized businesses (SME) in the Ottawa-Gatineau region or elsewhere, (iv) what strategy was used to mitigate the impact on SMEs, (v) is there an impact study for these projects on the information technology industry and, if so, what are the details?

Q-71² — March 3, 2009 — — With respect to the Mountain Pine Beetle disaster: (a) how much money has been designated by the government to address this issue; (b) when, where and which government official announced these allocation of funds; (c) to date, how much has been spent; (d) in which provinces and municipalities have these funds been spent; (e) how have these funds been spent; (f) which companies or front-line government agencies have received payment for related services; (g) what is the timeline for the spending of any remaining funds; and (h) how will these remaining funds be allocated?

Q-72² — March 3, 2009 — — What is the total amount of government funding, since fiscal year 2004-2005 up to and including the current fiscal year, allocated within the constituency of , listing each department or agency, initiative, and amount?

Q-73 — March 3, 2009 — — With regard to Western Economic Diversification Canada, what are, in detail, all the projects funded or currently funded which are targeted for Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, from February 2006 up to now?

Q-74 — March 3, 2009 — — With regard to Western Economic Diversification Canada client relations: (a) does the department work from a project based or client based approach for project management related to grants and contributions; and (b) what risk management framework and client relationship management system does the department use, more specifically what are the processes implemented to better serve its clients?

Q-75 — March 4, 2009 — — With respect to investing in research and innovation, specifically regarding York University in Toronto, Ontario: (a) what is the government's plan to ensure that Canadian research and development remain an example to the rest of the world; (b) what is the government prepared to do to ensure that the best and brightest remain in Canada; (c) what research grants will the government be making available this year, both at York University and across Canada; (d) what new programs will the government undertake to assist students; (e) what will the government's response be to the issue of rising tuition; (f) what specific steps will the government take to invest in research and development, to improve the lives of Canadians, and to partner to help Canadian industries grow in these difficult economic times; and (g) what future investments is the government planning in colleges and universities?

Q-76² — March 5, 2009 — — Regarding the Government of Germany’s use of an informant to ascertain the names of foreign investors holding accounts with the Liechtenstein LGT Group: (a) did the Government of Canada pay any sum of money to the Government of Germany, or any other government, to obtain the identity of the Canadian citizens or residents whose name appeared on that list and, if so, how much; (b) without breaching the privacy rights of any individual, how many Canadian names appeared on that list; (c) is the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) granting those individuals who are listed the opportunity to pursue a voluntary disclosure; (d) if the answer to (c) is yes, will, or have, individuals who approached the CRA only after media reports surfaced about the breach of privacy at the LGT Group be considered eligible for a voluntary disclosure; (e) if the answer to (d) is yes, is it the policy of the CRA to allow tax payers to avail themselves of the voluntary disclosure program once they could reasonable be aware that the CRA may be pursuing an audit; (f) how many of the listed individuals have approached the CRA with a voluntary disclosure; (g) how many individuals has the CRA begun to audit from the list of LGT Group clients; and (h) how many individuals has the CRA begun to prosecute from the list of LGT Group clients?

Q-77² — March 6, 2009 — — With respect to community facilities on First Nations: (a) does Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) conduct health and safety inspections of every educational facility on a regular basis and, if so, how often are regular health and safety inspections supposed to take place on educational facilities within INAC’s jurisdiction; (b) what causes health and safety inspections to be conducted on these facilities outside of the regular basis; (c) what health and safety inspections have taken place on the educational facilities in Attawapiskat First Nation since January 2000; (d) what health and safety inspections have taken place on the portables that currently comprise Attawapiskat’s elementary school facilities since they were originally built; (e) how did INAC officials come to the conclusion drawn in the Comprehensive Integrated Document Management document No. 198761 of November 21, 2007 that there were health and safety concerns with the portables in Attawapiskat, which were “in need of extensive repairs”; (f) how many First Nations students across Canada currently attend school in facilities that INAC believes contain health and safety concerns; (g) as of March 4, 2009, what new school construction projects are the top 40 priorities for INAC across Canada and, for each of these 40 schools, how long has INAC known that health and safety concerns existed in the current facilities; (h) between January 2006 and March 2009, how many schools sitting in federal electoral districts represented by Members from the New Democratic Party, Bloc Québécois or Liberal Party of Canada were not built, or had construction delayed; (i) how did INAC’s commitment to upgrading and replacing First Nations’ water facilities impact the capital budget for educational facilities; (j) was additional money allocated to INAC’s overall budget to upgrade and replace First Nations’ water facilities and, if so, how much additional funding did INAC receive to upgrade and replace First Nations’ inadequate water facilities, if not, was money simply moved from other INAC budget lines to fund these projects; (k) between January 2006 and March 2009, how much money was spent on upgrading and replacing water facilities on First Nations in Canada; (l) between January 2006 and March 2009, how much money was spent on upgrading and replacing water facilities on First Nations sitting in federal electoral districts represented by Members from the New Democratic Party, Bloc Québécois or Liberal Party of Canada on the day that the Treasury Board Secretariat signed off on the funding; and (m) between January 2006 and March 2009, how much money was spent on upgrading and replacing water facilities on First Nations sitting in federal electoral districts represented by Members of the Conservative Party of Canada on the day that the Treasury Board Secretariat signed off on the funding?

Q-78² — March 6, 2009 — — With regard to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO): (a) who drafted or authored the press release issued on March 3, 2009 under the title “Statement by Fabian Manning, Senator”; (b) who approved or authorized the release of that press release by or on behalf of DFO; (c) what was the cost of distributing it via Marketwire; (d) was the press release transmitted or distributed by any other commercial means or services and, if so, (i) which means or services, (ii) at what costs; (e) who paid or will pay the costs for using Marketwire or any other means or service; and (f) was the said press release published to either the national or any regional DFO web sites and, if so, (i) which web sites, (ii) at what time was it published, (iii) was it later removed from the web sites, (iv) if removed, why was it removed and when was it removed?

Q-79 — March 9, 2009 — — What is the total amount of government funding since fiscal year 1998-1999 up to and including the current fiscal year, allocated within the constituency of , listing each department or agency, initiative, and amount?

Q-80² — March 9, 2009 — — With regards to requests received by the government to consult with First Nations on projects, programs, policies or plans that impact either inherent Aboriginal rights or treaty rights: (a) since 2005, how many requests has the government received; (b) what was the date of each request; (c) what was the government's response to each of those requests; and (d) what was the date of each response?

Q-81² — March 9, 2009 — — With regards to on-reserve school projects, for each year between 1999 and 2009: (a) what projects have finished construction and were ready for occupation; (b) in what federal riding were each school built; and (c) for any of these schools, was there a press release sent out by the government to announce its construction or its opening and, if so, what were the dates of those press releases?

Q-82² — March 10, 2009 — — With respect to the new infrastructure funding announced in the budget, will any of this new funding be administered through FedNor and, if so, what is the application process of obtaining infrastructure funding through FedNor?

Q-83² — March 10, 2009 — — With respect to the creation of a Southern Ontario Economic Development Agency: (a) will any staff currently employed by FedNor be laid off or transferred as a result of this new agency; and (b) will this agency be a fully-funded regional economic development agency similar to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency?

Q-84² — March 11, 2009 — — With regard to the employment insurance program: (a) what written advice have the departments obtained from and given to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development on (i) reducing the two week waiting period for employment insurance, (ii) reducing or changing qualifying hours to a uniform national standard; and (b) what are the monthly statistical breakdown for waiting periods (times) for processing employment claims for the years 2006, 2007 and 2008?

Q-85² — March 11, 2009 — — With respect to the Enabling Accessibility Fund: (a) how many applications were successful and received funding under this program, and how many were rejected; (b) with respect to successful applications, what was the location and value of each project, broken down by province and federal electoral district; (c) what is the total cost of administering the program thus far; (d) how much funding is left; (e) how many major projects under this program will or went to expand existing centres; (f) what is the value of the successful major projects applications that went towards (i) the construction of new centres, (ii) the expanding of existing centres; (g) how many of the successful Small Projects Enabling Accessibility Funding applications went towards (i) renovating buildings, (ii) modifying vehicles, (iii) making information and communications more accessible; and (h) what is the value of the successful Small Projects Enabling Accessibility Funding applications that went towards (i) renovating buildings, (ii) modifying vehicles, (iii) making information and communication more accessible?

Q-86² — March 11, 2009 — — With regards to mortgages: (a) how many loans for 40 year amortization mortgages has the government guaranteed (i) since January 1, 1993, (ii) since February 6, 2006; (b) since February 6, 2006, how many loans for 40 year amortization mortgages has the government guaranteed with zero down payment from the client; (c) as of March 10, 2009, what is the government’s contingent liability related to guarantees for all mortgages which were entered into with (i) a 40 year amortization period, (ii) a 35 year amortization period; and (d) as of March 10, 2009, how many mortgages entered into with a 40 year amortization period have been purchased by the government through the Insured Mortgage Purchase Program?

Q-87² — March 11, 2009 — — With respect to the death of Canadian Forces member MCpl. Joshua Roberts: (a) what information did the government possess that informed Lt Gen. Leslie’s initial explanation to MCpl. Roberts’ family at the repatriation ceremony that MCpl. Roberts was killed by gunfire from Afghans contracted by Compass Security; (b) what information did the government uncover subsequent to Lt Gen. Leslie’s explanation which resulted in the conclusion reached by the National Investigation Service (NIS) that MCpl. Roberts was killed by insurgent gunfire; (c) what information does the government possess that is sufficient to dismiss the statements by Afghans working for Compass Security that they fired their weapons during the firefight in which MCpl. Roberts was killed; (d) what information does the government possess that is sufficient to dismiss the statements made by Canadian and U.S. soldiers present at a roadblock a short distance away from the firefight that indicated they believed it was Compass Security personnel who fired on MCpl. Roberts’ unit; (e) how can the government consider the investigation to be closed and Compass Security completely exonerated when the forensic examination from the bullet that killed MCpl. Roberts was inconclusive; (f) what information does the government possess to explain how the bullet that killed MCpl. Roberts fell out of his body during transit; (g) as the medical officer who wrote the initial report into MCpl. Roberts death concluded that the direction of the bullet that killed MCpl. Roberts could not be determined, what information does the government possess that informed the conclusion in the NIS report that the bullet was fired from an insurgent position; (h) as the NIS report notes that Canadian soldiers came under fire from friendly call signs during the firefight in which MCpl. Roberts was killed, what information does the government possess which definitively rules out any role for friendly fire in causing the death of MCpl. Roberts; (i) why was the video footage from the helmet cameras of soldiers present during the death of MCpl. Roberts ordered erased before it could be analyzed as part of an investigation; (j) why was the family of MCpl. Roberts repeatedly told that they had to realize that an election was going on in response to their repeated requests for the release of information related to the death of MCpl. Roberts; and (k) is it the policy of the government to require families of Canadian soldiers killed in action to go through access to information mechanisms to obtain the official documentation, such as NIS reports or autopsy reports, into the death of their relative?


¹ Requires Oral Answer ² Response requested within 45 days