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41st PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION

Journals

No. 88

Friday, May 16, 2014

10:00 a.m.



The Clerk informed the House of the unavoidable absence of the Speaker.

Whereupon, Mr. Stanton (Simcoe North), Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole, took the Chair, pursuant to Standing Order 8.

Prayers
Government Orders

The Order was read for the second reading and reference to the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs of Bill C-27, An Act to amend the Public Service Employment Act (enhancing hiring opportunities for certain serving and former members of the Canadian Forces).

Mrs. Glover (Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages) for Mr. Fantino (Minister of Veterans Affairs), seconded by Ms. Finley (Minister of Public Works and Government Services), moved, — That the Bill be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs.

Debate arose thereon.

Statements By Members

Pursuant to Standing Order 31, Members made statements.

Oral Questions

Pursuant to Standing Order 30(5), the House proceeded to Oral Questions.

Daily Routine Of Business

Tabling of Documents

Pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), Mr. Lukiwski (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons) laid upon the Table, — Government responses, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), to the following petitions:

— Nos. 412-2248, 412-2347 and 412-2352 concerning the grain industry. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-412-82-06;
— No. 412-2259 concerning the Senate. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-412-70-04;
— No. 412-2296 concerning foreign aid. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-412-34-06;
— Nos. 412-2333 and 412-2418 concerning transportation. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-412-35-10;
— Nos. 412-2377 and 412-2382 concerning health care services. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-412-7-12;
— No. 412-2391 concerning the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-412-6-05;
— Nos. 412-2444, 412-2447, 412-2487, 412-2537 and 412-2560 to 412-2563 concerning the situation in Venezuela. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-412-39-03;
— No. 412-2667 concerning Old Age Security benefits. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-412-31-13.

Presenting Reports from Committees

Ms. Brown (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development), from the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, presented the Fifth Report of the Committee, "Responding to the Conflict in Syria". — Sessional Paper No. 8510-412-78.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the Committee requested that the government table a comprehensive response.

A copy of the relevant Minutes of Proceedings (Meetings Nos. 7, 10, 12, 13, 16, 19, 20 and 24 to 27) was tabled.


Introduction of Private Members' Bills

Pursuant to Standing Orders 68(2) and 69(1), on motion of Mr. Toone (Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine), seconded by Ms. Brosseau (Berthier—Maskinongé), Bill C-599, An Act to amend the Navigable Waters Protection Act (Gaspésie and Îles-de-la-Madeleine region), was introduced, read the first time, ordered to be printed and ordered for a second reading at the next sitting of the House.


Presenting Petitions

Pursuant to Standing Order 36, petitions certified correct by the Clerk of Petitions were presented as follows:

— by Mr. Godin (Acadie—Bathurst), one concerning the Canada Post Corporation (No. 412-3135);
— by Mr. Vellacott (Saskatoon—Wanuskewin), one concerning sex selection (No. 412-3136) and one concerning the Criminal Code of Canada (No. 412-3137);
— by Mr. Hyer (Thunder Bay—Superior North), one concerning the protection of the environment (No. 412-3138);
— by Ms. Borg (Terrebonne—Blainville), two concerning health care services (Nos. 412-3139 and 412-3140), one concerning international trade (No. 412-3141) and one concerning the Canada Post Corporation (No. 412-3142);
— by Mr. Kamp (Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission), one concerning sex selection (No. 412-3143);
— by Ms. Freeman (Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel), one concerning navigable waters (No. 412-3144);
— by Ms. Murray (Vancouver Quadra), one concerning the electoral system (No. 412-3145);
— by Mr. Allen (Welland), one concerning genetic engineering (No. 412-3146), one concerning pesticides (No. 412-3147) and two concerning the grain industry (Nos. 412-3148 and 412-3149).

Questions on the Order Paper

Mr. Lukiwski (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons) presented the answers to questions Q-429 and Q-446 on the Order Paper.


Pursuant to Standing Order 39(7), Mr. Lukiwski (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons) presented the returns to the following questions made into Orders for Return:

Q-427 — Ms. Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe) — With regard to Economic Action Plan 2012's promise of proactive enrolment in Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS): (a) what is the definition of (i) proactive enrolment, (ii) automatic enrolment; (b) what exact steps will Canadians have to take to receive each GIS and OAS once (i) automatic enrolment is fully implemented, (ii) any proactive enrolment is fully implemented; (c) for each benefit, will proactive enrolment be completed by 2015 and, if not, what is the timeline; (d) is the GIS included in the (i) automatic enrolment initiative, (ii) any proactive enrolment imitative; (e) what are the phases of (i) the automatic enrolment initiative, with a detailed description of each phase, (ii) any proactive enrolment initiatives, with a detailed description of each phase; (f) is information publically available about (i) the automatic enrolment initiative, (ii) any proactive enrolment initiatives; (g) for each benefit, will individuals be notified if they are not eligible for (i) automatic enrolment, (ii) proactive enrolment; (h) for each benefit, what is the eligibility criteria for automatic or proactive enrolment; and (i) for each benefit, as of March 31, 2014, how many individuals have been (i) automatically enrolled, (ii) proactively enrolled? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-412-427.

Q-430 — Mr. Thibeault (Sudbury) — With regard to government spending in the constituency of Sudbury: since 2011-2012 up to and including the current fiscal year, what is the total amount of funding allocated by the government within the constituency, broken down by (i) department, (ii) agency, (iii) initiative, (iv) amount? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-412-430.

Q-431 — Mr. Thibeault (Sudbury) — With regard to government-created mobile applications for each fiscal year since 2008-2009 up to and including the current fiscal year: for each application, broken down by department and individual project, (a) what is the total number of downloads; and (b) what is the total number of active users? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-412-431.

Q-432 — Mr. Cuzner (Cape Breton—Canso) — With regard to contracts under $10,000 granted by Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency or Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation since January 1, 2013: what are the (a) vendors' names; (b) contracts' reference numbers; (c) dates of the contracts; (d) descriptions of the services provided; (e) delivery dates; (f) original contracts' values; and (g) final contracts' values if different from the original contracts' values? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-412-432.

Q-442 — Mr. Trudeau (Papineau) — With regard to the Building Canada Fund 2007-2014: (a) what was the final application deadline in each province and territory for the (i) Major Infrastructure Component, (ii) Communities Component; (b) what project applications were not approved due to (i) lack of funding, (ii) failure to meet the eligibility criteria, (iii) all other reasons; (c) what was the last project to receive approval in each province and territory; (d) when did the last project receive approval in each province and territory; (e) what projects as of March 31, 2013 have contribution agreements in place to receive funding in future years; (f) how much funding is allocated to each of those projects; and (g) in what year or years is each project expected to receive its funding? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-412-442.

Q-454 — Ms. Laverdière (Laurier—Sainte-Marie) — With regard to the Extractives Cooperation for Enhanced Economic Development (EXCEED) Program under the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD): (a) which officials from DFATD and other departments, including the Privy Council Office, will be responsible for administering this program; (b) what was the entire process, including consultation, leading to the establishment of the program and what were the related dates; (c) did an external audit and evaluation committee assess the creation of this program; (d) what are (i) the reasons for establishing this program, (ii) the objectives, (iii) the mandate, (iv) the operations of this program; (e) how many employees will be assigned to manage and administer this program and what are their responsibilities; (f) are projects required to focus exclusively on African countries; (g) why was Latin America not included in this program; (h) what is the process for submitting project proposals; (i) will there be a tendering process; (j) when will the next request for proposals be issued; (k) how many project proposals has the program received since it was established; (l) what are the selection criteria and what is the complete project selection process; (m) who is eligible for funding under the program; (n) can private-sector companies receive funding under this program; (o) will a webpage be created on the DFATD website; (p) how much does this initiative cost; (q) what type of funding does this program award; (r) can the public or businesses contribute to the program now or in the future; (s) why was an initial budget of $25 million allocated; (t) will the budget be increased or decreased; (u) why was this program not announced in Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2014; (v) what indicators and measurement tools will be used to assess the effectiveness of projects funded by the program; (w) what specific measures have been taken and what internal audit and evaluation strategies have been developed for this program to ensure compliance with the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act, particularly in relation to (i) poverty reduction, (ii) consistency with Canadian values, (iii) Canada’s foreign policy, (iv) the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, (v) sustainable development, (vi) promoting democracy, (vii) promoting international human rights standards; (x) what is the relationship between the Canadian International Institute for Extractive Industries and Development and the African Minerals Development Centre, and will they receive program funding; (y) how will the program fit within the departmental structure of DFATD, and what will be the reporting relationship among program officials; (z) with regard to the project “African Legal Support Facility”, which is receiving $10 million over 5 years under the EXCEED Program, (i) what was the date of the call for proposals for this project, (ii) was this a public call for proposals, (iii) on the basis of what criteria was this project selected, (iv) who are the project partners, (v) what is the performance measurement strategy for this project, including objectives, anticipated results, performance indicators, and internal audit and evaluation strategies, (vi) do the internal audit and evaluation strategies include an analysis of the reports prepared for the African Development Bank, (vii) what is the project’s mandate; and (aa) with regard to the project referred to in (z), what specific measures have been taken and what internal audit and evaluation strategies have been developed for this project to ensure compliance with the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act, particularly in relation to (i) poverty reduction, (ii) consistency with Canadian values, (iii) Canada’s foreign policy, (iv) the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, (v) sustainable development, (vi) promoting democracy, (vii) promoting international human rights standards? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-412-454.

Q-456 — Mr. Goodale (Wascana) — With regard to duty remission on ships, boats and other vessels imported into Canada since January 1, 2006: (a) what requests for duty remission have been received (i) on what date, (ii) from whom, (iii) from what address; and (b) which requests were granted and, for each, (i) what is the value of the request, (ii) what was the value of the remission granted, (iii) what was the vessel's length, class, port of registry, and registration number, (iv) when was the decision rendered, (v) who authorized the duty remission? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-412-456.

Q-468 — Mr. Byrne (Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte) — With regard to the financing and operation of the Confederation Bridge: (a) what are the amounts of toll revenues reported to the government as required by the Bridge Operating Agreement between the government and Strait Crossing Development Incorporated (SCDI), broken down by year and/or report from 1997 to the most current report; (b) has the government ever audited or evaluated SDCI’s records or remittances, as provided for in the Bridge Operating Agreement; (c) if the answer to (b) is yes, what were the key findings of the audits and what are the document identification references to these audits or evaluations; (d) if the answer to (b) is no, why has the government not audited SCDI’s records to date; (e) what has the government paid to SCDI or Strait Crossing Finance Inc. (SCFI) annually to retire the bonds issued by SCFI for the financing of the Confederation Bridge; (f) what are the government’s forecasted annual payments to SCDI or SCFI for the purposes of retiring the bonds for the remainder of its 35-year agreement with SCDI or SCFI; and (g) what are the amounts of any payments made owing to the government's guarantee to SCDI of a minimum of $13.9 million (1996 dollars) per year in toll revenue? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-412-468.
Government Orders

The House resumed consideration of the motion of Mr. Fantino (Minister of Veterans Affairs), seconded by Ms. Finley (Minister of Public Works and Government Services), — That Bill C-27, An Act to amend the Public Service Employment Act (enhancing hiring opportunities for certain serving and former members of the Canadian Forces), be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs.

The debate continued.

Private Members' Business

At 1:43 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 30(7), the House proceeded to the consideration of Private Members' Business.

The House resumed consideration of the motion of Mr. Brahmi (Saint-Jean), seconded by Mr. Chicoine (Châteauguay—Saint-Constant), — That Bill C-568, An Act respecting former Canadian Forces members, be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs.

The debate continued.

The question was put on the motion and, pursuant to Standing Order 93(1), the recorded division was deferred until Wednesday, May 28, 2014, immediately before the time provided for Private Members' Business.

Returns and Reports Deposited with the Clerk of the House

Pursuant to Standing Order 32(1), papers deposited with the Clerk of the House were laid upon the Table as follows:

— by Mr. Blaney (Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) — Agreement for RCMP policing services (First Nations Community Policing Service) for the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, pursuant to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, R.S. 1985, c. R-10, sbs. 20(5). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-412-475-04. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security)
— by Mr. Blaney (Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) — Proposed Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, pursuant to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, S.C. 2001, c. 27, sbs. 5(2). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-412-790-06. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration)
— by Mr. Nicholson (Minister of National Defence) — Report of the Chief of Defence Staff on the National Sex Offender Registry for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014, pursuant to the National Defence Act, R.S. 1985, c. N-5, sbs. 227.171. — Sessional Paper No. 8560-412-1051-01. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on National Defence)
— by Mr. Ritz (Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food) — Summaries of the Corporate Plan for the period 2014-2015 to 2018-2019 and of the Operating and Capital Budgets and Borrowing Plan for 2014-2015 of Farm Credit Canada, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 125(4). — Sessional Paper No. 8562-412-818-01. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food)
Adjournment

At 2:08 p.m., the Acting Speaker adjourned the House until Monday, May 26, 2014, at 11:00 a.m., pursuant to Standing Orders 28(2) and 24(1).