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View Bruce Stanton Profile
CPC (ON)

Question No. 1148--
Mr. Mark Warawa:
With regard to government funding in the riding of Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon, for each fiscal year since 2005-2006 inclusive: (a) what are the details of all grants, contributions, and loans to any organization, body, or group, broken down by (i) name of the recipient, (ii) municipality of the recipient, (iii) date on which the funding was received, (iv) amount received, (v) department or agency providing the funding, (vi) program under which the grant, contribution, or loan was made, (vii) nature or purpose; and (b) for each grant, contribution and loan identified in (a), was a press release issued to announce it and, if so, what is the (i) date, (ii) headline, (iii) file number of the press release?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1150--
Mr. Emmanuel Dubourg:
With regard to the Excise Tax Act, specifically Schedule V, Part II, section 1.2, its application to the provisions of medical examinations, reports, and certificates since March 21, 2013, and its application to “qualifying” health care supplies: (a) what supplies are no longer considered to be a qualifying health care supply and are now subject to GST/HST; (b) what services performed by health care professionals and practitioners are now taxable; (c) what specific reports, evaluations, examinations, assessments, and certificates are now subject to HST/GST for each of the following practitioners, (i) psychology, (ii) social work services, (iii) psychiatry, (iv) medical practitioners, (v) optometrists, (vi) occupational therapist, (vii) chiropractors, (viii) physiotherapists, (ix) nursing services, (x) dietetic services, (xi) dental hygienist services, (xii) laboratory services; (d) with what stakeholders and professional organizations has the Department of Finance consulted about this tax change; (e) what stakeholders and professional associations has Canada Revenue Agency consulted with about this tax change; (f) what revenue will the government collect each year from 2013 to 2020 as a result of this tax change; (g) what revenue will the government collect each year from 2013 to 2020 for each type of report, evaluations, examinations, assessments, and certificates that are now subject to GST/HST; (h) what specific court decision led to the new definition of qualifying health care supply; (i) for each supply, service, evaluation, examination, assessment, certificate and specific report identified in (a), (b), and (c), could a Canadian veteran be charged HST/GST either directly or indirectly by a health care practitioner or practitioners; (j) for each supply, service, evaluation, examination, assessment, certificate, and specific report identified in (a), (b), and (c), will Canadian veterans be charged HST/GST either directly or indirectly by psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, registered marriage and family therapists, and clinical care managers who are on Veterans Affairs Canada's approved list of service providers; (k) will the government be seeking to collect this tax retroactively; and (l) are the following reports, evaluations, examinations, assessments, and certificates subject to HST/GST, (i) custody assessments for Superior Court, (ii) disability determination packages, (iii) psychological assessments of individuals with developmental disabilities for the purpose of supporting eligibility applications for supportive, rehabilitation, community living programs and services?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1154--
Mr. Bruce Hyer:
With regard to government funding allocated in the constituency of Thunder Bay—Superior North, broken down by fiscal year from 2011-2012 to present: (a) what is the total amount of this funding, broken down by (i) department, (ii) agency, (iii) program, (iv) any other government body; and (b) how many jobs are estimated to have been created by this funding, broken down by (i) full-time jobs, (ii) part-time jobs?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1155--
Ms. Kirsty Duncan:
With respect to the Ebola vaccine developed at the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML): (a) on what date did research for the vaccine begin; (b) what are the names of the scientists involved in the research, and what are their positions; (c) why was the vaccine research initially undertaken; (d) was the research undertaken at any time in relation to anti-bioterrorism, and, if so, during what periods and with what specific mandate; (e) who provided funding for the research and development of the vaccine; (f) was the Government of Canada the only contributor to the research and development fund; (g) how much funding did the government provide, broken down by (i) percentage, (ii) department, (iii) date, (iv) dollar amount of contribution; (h) on what date was a robust immune response demonstrated to the vaccine; (i) on what date were research findings published and in what journal, and, if none were published, why not; (j) on what date was the vaccine patented and when was the initial patent application brought; (k) in which countries is the vaccine patented; (l) during what specific time period was the vaccine produced, (i) how many vials were produced, (ii) who was informed of this production, (iii) how were they informed; (m) was there a competitive process to sell the licensing rights or other entitlements relating to the vaccine; (n) if the process in (m) was created, (i) who developed the criteria for the licensing rights or other entitlements, broken down by position and department, (ii) what were the criteria to obtain the licensing rights or other entitlements, (iii) on what date was the competitive process launched, (iv) how many companies bid for the rights, (v) which companies bid for the rights and on what dates, (vi) how did NewLink Genetics (including Bioprotection Systems Corporation) meet the criteria for the licensing rights or other entitlements; (o) on what date was NewLink Genetics awarded the rights or entitlements; (p) what specific experience did NewLink Genetics have with vaccines, specifically when it comes to manufacturing capacity; (q) what NewLink Genetics products had reached the point of commercial production at the time of its bidding and purchase of the rights; (r) on what date did NewLink Genetics purchase the rights or entitlements from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and for what cost; (s) as part of the licensing agreement, was NewLink Genetics expected to meet any milestones by any particular dates, (i) if so, when, (ii) if not, why not; (t) as part of the licensing agreement, what percentage royalties would NewLink Genetics pay Canada on any sales of the vaccine; (u) to date, how much income has the government obtained from licensing the vaccine, broken down by (i) up-front payments, (ii) milestone payments, (iii) any other payments; (v) did any of the NML or PHAC scientists/staff have any associations or links or monetary or proprietary interests or any other association with NewLink Genetics, and, if so, what are they; (w) did Canadian officials and the licensee meet annually in face-to-face meetings as required by Article 7.9 of the license agreement, and, if so, for all meetings, what is (i) the date, (ii) location, (iii) the names of all persons in attendance; (x) on what date did NewLink Genetics begin clinical trials of the vaccine; (y) how long was the delay between the onset of the commercial relationship with NewLink Genetics and start of clinical trials, broken down by (i) days, (ii) months, (iii) years; (z) what reason was given for the delay in (y); (aa) did the government question the progress of the clinical trials, if so, on what specific dates, and, if not, why not; (bb) in Canada's licensing agreement with NewLink Genetics, did Canada have the right to let other manufacturers make the vaccine for use in other countries "for compassionate care purposes" if NewLink had not received regulatory approval for the vaccine in the target country; (cc) did anyone in Canada urge the government to terminate its agreement with NewLink Genetics, and, if so, (i) who did so, (ii) on what dates, (iii) why; (dd) did anyone outside Canada request that Canada cancel NewLink's rights under the license, and, if so, (i) who did so, (ii) on what dates, (iii) why; (ee) did the government terminate the agreement, (i) if so, why, (ii) if not, why not; (ff) if the government terminated the agreement with NewLink Genetics, would Merck have paid the government the $30 million up front and $20 million once larger formal trials begun that went to NewLink Genetics, and would the government have been eligible to receive royalties on sales in certain markets; (gg) did the government approve of NewLink Genetics sub-licensing the vaccine to Merck; (hh) on what date did the government pay for IDT Biologika, to manufacture approximately 1 500 vials of the vaccine suitable for human trials, (i) how much was paid, (ii) was the Department of Defence involved, and, if so, why, (iii) did the Department of Defence contribute any funds; (ii) on what date did the Ebola outbreak begin in West Africa; (jj) on what date did the government reveal it had in storage an experimental vaccine that might be of use in combating the epidemic; (kk) on what date did the government offer vaccine to the World Health Organization (WHO); (ll) how many vials were sent to the WHO by the government, (i) on what date did the vials arrive, (ii) were there any delays; (mm) what are the results of the eight, phase l clinical trials in terms of (i) safety, (ii) immunogenic response, (iii) dose strength for phase 2/3 clinical trials; (nn) on what date did phase 2/3 clinical trials begin in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone; and (oo) what was the government’s involvement overall, broken down by (i) expertise, (ii) funding, (iii) personnel, (iv) other?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1162--
Ms. Jinny Jogindera Sims:
With regard to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program: (a) for 2013 and 2014, what was the average length of time between the receipt of an application for a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) and the issuance of a decision, broken down by province; (b) for 2014 and 2015, what was the average length of time between the receipt of an application for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and the issuance of a decision, broken down by (i) year, (ii) month, (iii) province; (c) for 2013 and 2014, what was the average length of time between the receipt of an application for an LMO for the Live-In Caregiver Program and the issuance of a decision, broken down by province; (d) for 2014 and 2015, what was the average length of time between the receipt of an application for an LMIA for the Caregiver Program and the issuance of a decision, broken down by (i) year, (ii) month, (iii) province; (e) for 2014, how many LMO were approved for the Live-In Caregiver Program, broken down by (i) month, (ii) province; and (f) for 2014 and 2015, how many LMIA were approved for the Caregiver Program, broken down by (i) month, (ii) province?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1164--
Ms. Irene Mathyssen:
With regard to the National Strategy for Financial Literacy “Phase 1: strengthening seniors' financial literacy campaign”: (a) how much money has been spent to date on developing and implementing the campaign; (b) when will the campaign be launched; (c) what is the budget for the campaign; (d) what individuals and organizations were consulted on the development of the campaign; (e) what measure will be undertaken to promote the campaign; and (f) will there be paid public advertising for the campaign and, if so, what is the budget for that advertising?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1167--
Hon. Gerry Byrne:
With regard to Transport Canada and Marine Atlantic Incorporated, for fiscal years 1998 to 2007, and for fiscal years 2007-2008 to 2014-2015, respectively, while taking into consideration any transition to new accounting periods: (a) what was the (i) annual parliamentary appropriation supplied to Marine Atlantic Incorporated, (ii) total annual revenue collected from users, (iii) annual gross revenue; (b) what was the percentage of cost recovery from users broken down by (i) company-wide operations, (ii) the Port aux Basques to North Sydney route operations, (iii) the Argentia to North Sydney route operations; (c) based on the information provided in (b), what capital and what operational inputs are generally included in items (i) to (iii) respectively; (d) what rates have been charged to users for each type of service offered by Marine Atlantic Incorporated during this period and what was the effective net rate for each such service, broken down by any (i) additional service fees, (ii) fuel surcharges, (iii) security fees, (iv) all other incremental fees or charges that may have been applied; (e) what was the first year that a fuel surcharge was applied to any rates; and (f) has there been a year in which the previous year’s fuel surcharge was rolled into or combined with the previously established rates, and subsequently, a new fuel surcharge established over and above the new rate?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1168--
Hon. Gerry Byrne:
With regard to Transport Canada and Marine Atlantic Incorporated: (a) what were the costs incurred to refit each vessel to comply with Canadian safety standards or to refurbish or alter the vessels in any way before Marine Atlantic took possession of each vessel, for the (i) Motor Vessel (MV) Atlantic Vision, (ii) MV Blue Puttees, (iii) MV Highlanders; (b) what were the costs incurred to refit each vessel to comply with Canadian safety standards or to refurbish or alter the vessels in any way after Marine Atlantic took possession of each vessel in (a); (c) what were the annual lease costs paid out from 2008-09 to the present, as well as the anticipated annual lease costs for each vessel in (a); (d) what, if any, is the pre-negotiated purchase price for each vessel if they were to be purchased from their owners by Transport Canada or Marine Atlantic at the end of their current leases, for each vessel in (a); (e) what are the anticipated costs to Transport Canada or to Marine Atlantic of not renewing the vessel leases beyond the current terms and returning the vessels to their owners for each vessel in (a); and (f) based on the information in (e), what are the details of these costs?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1170--
Hon. Gerry Byrne:
With regard to Marine Atlantic Incorporated, during fiscal years 1998 to 2007 and 2007-2008 to 2014-2015, respectively, while taking into consideration any transition to new accounting periods, and broken down by the specific route and by the specific vessel within the fleet that was involved: (a) how many times in each month of every year was a scheduled ferry crossing delayed, and how long did each delay last, due to (i) mechanical issues, (ii) weather related issues, (iii) a combination of weather and mechanical issues; (b) how many times in each month of every year was a scheduled crossing cancelled due to (i) mechanical issues, (ii) weather issues, (iii) other issues; (c) were there ever periods of time in which Transport Canada or Marine Atlantic Incorporated believed that Term 32 of the Terms of Union between Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada was not being fulfilled and, if so, what were these periods of time and what was understood to be the cause of the failure to fulfill this constitutional obligation; (d) did Transport Canada or Marine Atlantic ever receive advice from an outside consultant concerning the optimal ferry vessel size and vessel specifications for the Port aux Basques to North Sydney ferry service and, if so, of all the options that were analyzed, was there a particular hull size that was believed by the consultants to likely be the most optimal for operations on this service and, if so, (i) what was this hull size , (ii) what were there reasons given for this conclusion; and (e) what is the definition of the constitutional term “as traffic offers” in government documentation, and what are the specific service delivery standards or operational standards required for compliance with this constitutional obligation, in terms of traffic offering and the government delivering the transportation by means of the ferry service?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1175--
Mr. Scott Simms:
With regard to Marine Atlantic Incorporated: (a) what are all projects, initiatives, or expenditures stemming from the five-year investment fund announced in the 2010 federal budget, broken down by: (i) cost, (ii) date, (iii) timelines, (iv) rationales for each project or initiative; (b) what are the details of all government correspondences and documentations relating to the five-year investment, including (i) relevant file or tracking numbers, (ii) correspondence or file type, (iii) subject, (iv) date, (v) purpose, (vi) origin, (vii) intended destination, (viii) other officials, agencies, departments, or contractors copied or involved; (c) what are the details of all government correspondences and documentation concerning Marine Atlantic Incorporated as it relates to the Ferry Services Stewardship and Support Program and the Transportation Infrastructure Program through Transport Canada since the creation of these programs, including (i) relevant file or tracking numbers, (ii) correspondence or file type, (iii) subject, (iv) date, (v) purpose, (vi) origin, (vii) intended destination, (viii) other officials, agencies, departments, or contractors copied or involved; (d) has Marine Atlantic undertaken any advertising or marketing of the promotional discount campaign for the North Sydney-Argentia run and, if so, what has been done, broken down by (i) date, (ii) cost, (iii) medium, (iv) targeted audiences; (e) again with respect to the promotional discount campaign, (i) what is the rationale in detail concerning the status and future planning of the promotional discount campaign for ferry services, (ii) what is the rationale in detail why the promotional discount campaign was not applied to the Port aux Basques-North Sydney run, (iii) was any public opinion research conducted prior to launching the promotional discount campaign and, if so, what are the details of any such research; and (f) what are the details of all government correspondences and documentation concerning the promotional discount campaign, including (i) relevant file or tracking numbers, (ii) correspondence or file type, (iii) subject, (iv) date, (v) purpose, (vi) origin, (vii) intended destination, (viii) other officials, agencies, departments, or contractors copied or involved?
Response
(Return tabled)
8555-412-1148 Government funding8555-412-1150 Excise Tax Act8555-412-1154 Government funding8555-412-1155 Ebola vaccine8555-412-1162 Temporary Foreign Worker P ...8555-412-1164 National Strategy for Fina ...8555-412-1167 Marine Atlantic Incorporated8555-412-1168 Vessel related expenses8555-412-1170 Ferry service8555-412-1175 Marine Atlantic IncorporatedAdvertising ...Show all topics
View Yvon Godin Profile
NDP (NB)
View Yvon Godin Profile
2015-04-24 11:54 [p.12995]
Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about the transfer of snow crab fishing licences. The New Brunswick Court of Appeal has already ruled in favour of Cyrenus Dugas, a crab fisher from New Brunswick. That decision was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2013. However, the case is back before the courts once again.
Can the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans follow the example of her predecessor and wait for the outcome of this case before she gets involved in the transfer of that licence to P.E.I. fishers Peter and Adam Gaudet, or will she respect the court of appeal's decision, which was upheld by the Supreme Court?
View Gail Shea Profile
CPC (PE)
View Gail Shea Profile
2015-04-24 11:54 [p.12995]
Mr. Speaker, this issue has spent considerable time before the courts, and I can assure members that DFO's decision will be guided by court decisions and by DFO policies.
View Andrew Scheer Profile
CPC (SK)

Question No. 1056--
Mr. Fin Donnelly:
With respect to government grants and contributions allocated within the constituency of New Westminster—Coquitlam from fiscal year 2011-2012 to the present: what is the total amount allocated, broken down by (i) amount, (ii) individual recipient?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1059--
Hon. Mark Eyking:
With regard to government investments, excluding those in relation to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency: what are the details of all investments made in Nova Scotia from 2005-2006 to 2013-2014, broken down by (i) project, (ii) fiscal year?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1061--
Mr. Marc Garneau:
With regard to exceptions granted under the Policy on Tabling of Treaties in Parliament (the Policy): (a) broken down by year, since the Policy became effective, how many and which specific instruments were granted exemptions; (b) on what basis was each exemption granted in (a); (c) if the exemption in (b) was based on urgency, (i) how was the treaty determined to be urgent, (ii) who made this determination, (iii) when; (d) if the exemption in (b) was for a reason other than urgency, (i) what was the reason, (ii) how was this determined; (e) who determines what constitutes an acceptable reason, other than urgency, to exempt a treaty from the normal tabling requirements under the Policy; (f) have any requested exceptions to the Policy not been granted; (g) broken down by treaties exempted, (i) on what date did Canada sign the instrument, (ii) when did Canada ratify the agreement, (iii) when was the treaty tabled in Parliament; (h) broken down by treaty exempted, was a joint letter drafted "that clearly articulates the rationale to proceed with the ratification, without tabling in the House of Commons"; (i) for each letter described in (h), (i) what is the date of the letter, (ii) to whom is it addressed, (iii) who signed it; (j) broken down by year, what treaties have been exempted from the Policy without a joint letter; (k) broken down by treaty in (j), why was no draft letter created; (l) with respect to the response of the government to part (gg) of Q-816, stating that no joint letter was created with respect to the exemption granted to the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Canada to Improve International Tax Compliance through Enhanced Exchange of Information under the Convention Between the United States of America and Canada with Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital, is the lack of such a letter typical; (m) in each case where an exception to the Policy was granted, was the approval of the Prime Minister sought; (n) in each case where approval for an exception to the Policy was sought from the Prime Minister, was the approval granted; (o) if there were any cases where an exception was granted without approval being sought from the Prime Minister or being granted by the Prime Minister, (i) what treaty was at issue, (ii) what happened, (iii) what justified the course of action; (p) has any study or analysis been undertaken with respect to exceptions granted under the Policy; (q) when was the last time the Policy was reviewed and what were the conclusions of this review with respect to exemptions; (r) what is the policy justification for allowing an exception to the tabling policy; (s) is the granting of an exception always indicated in the explanatory memorandum; (t) if the answer to (s) is no, in what cases was a treaty granted an exception to the Policy but this information not included in the explanatory memorandum; (u) when an exception is granted and this is indicated in the explanatory memorandum, is the reason for the exception indicated in all cases; (v) in what cases has an exception been granted but the treaty still tabled for twenty-one sitting days prior to any Parliamentary action to bring it into force, where applicable; (w) may an exception be granted to the Policy without the Prime Minister's approval being sought; (x) may an exception to the Policy be granted without the Prime Minister's approval; (y) what statistics are kept and by whom regarding exceptions to the Policy; (z) by what means, and when in the process, is the public informed that an exception to the Policy has been granted; and (aa) by what means, and when in the process, is Parliament informed that an exception to the Policy has been granted?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1063--
Hon. Carolyn Bennett:
With regard to Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada and to each First Nation reserve community: (a) does the community have its own on-reserve fire department or fire protective service; (b) if the answer to (a) is negative, does the community have a contract or agreement with a municipality or other fire department or fire protective service, providing (i) the name of the other party to that contract or agreement, (ii) the start and end dates of that contract or agreement; (c) if the answer to (b) is negative, did the community formerly have a contract or agreement with a municipality or other fire department or fire protective service, providing (i) the name of the other party to that contract or agreement, (ii) the start and end dates of that contract or agreement, (iii) the reason for which the contract or agreement is no longer in force; and (d) what are the titles, dates, and file numbers of all reports, briefing materials, briefing notes, memoranda, dossiers, dockets, or assessments, created or modified since January 1, 2010, held by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Public Safety Canada, Health Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or Intergovernmental Affairs, concerning fire protective services in any particular First Nations reserve community or group of communities, or concerning fire protective services in First Nations reserve communities in general?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1066--
Ms. Chrystia Freeland:
With regard to government communications: what are the details of all bulk-mail or addressed direct-mail advertising or communications activities undertaken by any department, agency, or crown corporation since January 1, 2011, including the enclosure of informational pamphlets or leaflets along with a cheque, statement or notice, giving in each instance (i) the start and end date of the advertising or communications activity, (ii) the nature, purpose, or description of the activity, (iii) the cost of printing the advertising or communications piece, pamphlet, or leaflet, (iv) the cost of mailing the advertising or communications piece, pamphlet, or leaflet, other than in those instances where it was mailed along with a cheque, statement or notice, (v) the language or languages in which the communications piece, pamphlet, or leaflet was printed, (vi) the title, headline, or rubric of the communications piece, pamphlet, or leaflet, if applicable, (vii) the intended demographic segment which the activity was intended to reach or influence, and the criteria by which that demographic segment was identified, if applicable, (viii) the geographical distribution which the activity was intended to reach or influence, such as Forward Sortation Area, municipality, province or territory, federal electoral district, or other geographical area or areas, and the criteria by which that geographical distribution was identified, if applicable, (ix) the file or other identification number of the activity, (x) the file or other identification number, title, and date, of any report or analysis of the effectiveness or outcome of the bulk-mail or direct-mail campaign?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1068--
Hon. Gerry Byrne:
With regard to the Small Craft Harbours Program of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, for each fiscal year since 2006-2007, or each calendar year since 2006, as appropriate, and broken down by Department of Fisheries and Oceans administrative region and province: (a) what was the total employment related to administering the program, distinguishing (i) program officers, (ii) project support technicians, (iii) other employees, providing those employees’ job titles; (b) what was the number of client service locations; (c) what was the total expenditure to administer the program; (d) how many harbour authority seminars were held; (e) how many harbour authority representatives were provided with funding, or reimbursed, relative to their travel expenses to attend harbour authority seminars; (f) what were the total grants and contributions to harbours or harbour authorities, distinguishing those made to (i) Core Fishing Harbours, (ii) Non-Core Fishing Harbours, (iii) Recreational Harbours; and (g) what was the total of grants and contributions made to, or in respect of, each individual harbour or harbour authority?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1069--
Mr. Denis Blanchette:
With regard to the lawsuit initiated by the government in 2005 against Canadian National concerning compliance with agreements to maintain the Quebec Bridge, which was subsequently divided into two suits, and the ruling by Judge Louis Lacoursière with costs on October 22, 2014: (a) how much has the federal government spent on legal fees for the two suits between 2005 and now; (b) are there any foreseeable costs, other than those mentioned in the ruling, that have yet to be accounted for; (c) how much are the costs referred to in the ruling; (d) does the government plan to appeal the ruling delivered October 22, 2014; and (e) what is the status of the second suit?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1071--
Ms. Chrystia Freeland:
With regard to hiring and promotion practices of female employees in departments, agencies, Crown corporations, commissions and other organizations since January 1, 2006: (a) what is the total number of employees occupying senior executive positions, broken down by (i) department, agency, Crown Corporation, commission or other organization, (ii) calendar year, (iii) gender; (b) what was the total number of vacancies for senior executive positions, broken down by (i) department, agency, Crown Corporation, commission or other organization, (ii) calendar year; (c) what was the total number of employees who have been promoted from a non-senior executive position within the organization, to a senior executive position, broken down by (i) department, agency, Crown Corporation, commission or other organization, (ii) calendar year, (iii) gender; (d) what was the total number of employees who have been hired, from outside of the organization, to occupy a senior executive position, broken down by (i) department, agency, Crown Corporation, commission or other organization, (ii) calendar year, (iii) gender; (e) what was the total number of board positions, broken down by (i) Crown Corporation, commission or other organization, (ii) calendar year, (iii) filled or vacant, (iv) gender of board member; (f) what are the details of all documents, guidelines or internal policies relating to gender-balanced practices in recruitment, hiring, promotion, and board appointments including (i) the dates, titles or subject, and departmental internal tracking numbers, (ii) results or success rate information of these initiatives; (g) what are the details of any internal programs designed to increase prospects of advancement for female employees, such as mentorship programs or workshops, including (i) the starting date, duration, and program names, (ii) results or success rate information of these programs, (iii) relevant costs by program; and (h) what are the details of any advertising campaigns related to recruiting, promoting or empowering female employees, broken down by (i) title or subject of campaign, (ii) starting date, (iii) duration, (iv) form of media, (v) cost, (vi) results or success rate information of these initiatives?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1072--
Mr. Francis Scarpaleggia:
With regard to Health Canada's Food Labelling Modernization Initiative of proposed Daily Values (DV) for sugars and trans fats: (a) how did Health Canada determine a DV of 100 grams of sugar; (b) with which individuals or agencies did Health Canada consult to arrive at a proposed DV of 100 grams of sugar; (c) during consultations, did any individuals or agencies propose a lower DV than 100 grams and, if so, (i) which individuals or agencies did so, (ii) what reasons were given for disregarding their suggestions of a DV of sugar lower than 100 grams; (d) which peer-reviewed, independent, scientific research articles were referenced to support the proposed DV of 100 grams of sugar; (e) during consultations, which peer-reviewed, independent, scientific research articles were referenced that supported a DV lower than 100 grams, and what reasons were given for disregarding their conclusions; (f) why was the World Health Organization's recommended DV of 25 grams of sugar not adopted; (g) how did Health Canada determine a DV of 2 grams of trans fats; (h) with which individuals or agencies did Health Canada consult to arrive at a proposed DV of 2 grams of trans fats; (i) during consultations, did any individuals or agencies propose a lower DV than 2 grams of trans fats and, if so, (i) which individuals or agencies did so, (ii) what reasons were given for disregarding their suggestions of a DV of trans fats lower than 2 grams; (j) which peer-reviewed, independent, scientific research articles were referenced to support the proposed DV of 2 grams of trans fats; (k) during consultations, which peer-reviewed, independent, scientific research articles were referenced that supported a DV of trans fats lower than 2 grams and what reasons were given for disregarding their conclusion; and (l) why were the World Health Organization's statements that "industrial trans fats [...] do not belong in a healthy diet" and that fat consumption should shift "towards the elimination of industrial trans fats" not interpreted to mean a DV of 0 grams?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1077--
Ms. Chrystia Freeland:
With regard to safety measures of commercial railways since January 2006: (a) what was the total number of safety audits conducted by Transport Canada, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) province, (iii) operator, (iv) those carried out in the Greater Toronto Area, (v) those carried out within 5 km of the Summerhill-North Toronto CPR Station, (vi) associated cost, (vii) percentage passed, (viii) percentage failed; (b) what was the total number of operator-led audits performed, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) province, (iii) operator, (iv) those carried out in the Greater Toronto Area, (v) those carried out on the CP North Toronto Subdivision, (vi) associated cost, (vii) percentage passed, (viii) percentage failed; (c) what are the details of Transport Canada’s most recent safety audit for each area of track between stations, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) province, (iii) operator, (iv) subdivision name, (v) internal tracking number of report, (vi) result, (vii) recommended follow-up action, (viii) associated cost; (d) what was the total number of safety audits performed by Transport Canada on equipment, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) province, (iii) operator, (iv) results, (v) recommended follow-up action, (vi) associated costs; (e) what was the total number of operator-led safety audits performed on equipment, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) province, (iii) operator, (iv) results, (v) recommended follow-up action; (f) what was the total number of safety audits recommended by Transport Canada, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) province, (iii) those carried out in the Greater Toronto Area; (g) what was the total number of safety auditors employed by Transport Canada, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) province, (iii) those employed in the Greater Toronto Area, (iv) full-time, part-time, or contract status; (h) what was the total number of job postings for safety auditors, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) province,(iii) those employed in the Greater Toronto Area, (iv) full-time, part-time, or contract status; (i) what was the total number of apprentices or trainees receiving training to conduct safety audits, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) province, (iii) those being trained in the Greater Toronto Area, (iv) full-time, part-time, or contract status; (j) what was the total government cost of training new safety auditors, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) full-time, part-time, or contract status; (k) what are the details of any internal training programs intended to provide the necessary training to conduct safety audits, including (i) name or subject, (ii) province, (iii) starting date, (iv) duration, (v) internal tracking numbers of documents related to such programs, (vi) outcomes; (l) what are the details of any Transport Canada training programs intended to provide safety training to operators, including (i) name or subject, (ii) province, (iii)starting date, (iv) duration, (v) internal tracking numbers of documents related to such programs, (vi) associated cost; (m) what was the total number of accidents reported within the Greater Toronto Area, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) cause of accident (e.g., collision or derailment), (iii) total number of injuries, (iv) total number of fatalities, (v) monetary value of damage to goods, property or environment, (vi) type of material being transported, (vii) follow-up action recommended, (viii) follow-up action taken; (n) what was the total number of accidents reported within 5 km of the Summerhill-North Toronto CPR Station, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) cause of accident (e.g., collision or derailment), (iii) total number of injuries, (iv) total number of fatalities, (v) type of material being transported, (vi) follow-up action recommended, (vii) follow-up action taken; (o) for each calendar year in the period in question, what was the total government spending on oversight of follow-up action following rail accidents, broken down by (i) province, (ii) amounts spent within the Greater Toronto Area, (iii) amounts spent following incidents within 5 km of the Summerhill-North Toronto CPR Station; (p) what was the total number of safety concerns reported, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) province, (iii) concerns reported within the Greater Toronto Area, (iv) concerns reported within 5 km of the Summerhill-North Toronto CPR Station; (q) what was the total number of staff reprimands for safety violations, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) province, (iii) operator, (iv) safety violations within the Greater Toronto Area, (v) safety violations within 5 km of the Summerhill-North Toronto CPR Station; (r) what was the total number of staff terminated for safety violations, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) province, (iii) operator, (iv) safety violations within the Greater Toronto Area, (v) safety violations within 5 km of the Summerhill-North Toronto CPR Station; (s) what was the total of government spending on advertising related to the promotion of rail safety measures and precautions, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) province, (iii) type of media (e.g., print, radio, television), (iv) starting date, (v) duration; and (t) what was the total of government spending on advertising promoting Canadian railways, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) province, (iii) type of media (e.g., print, radio, television), (iv) starting date, (v) duration?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1078--
Ms. Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet:
With respect to existing federal government obligations in the area of social housing funded through long-term housing operating agreements for each fiscal year from 2005-2006 to 2039-2040: (a) what is the total amount of federal monetary commitment, broken down by province and territory; and (b) what is the total number of social housing units funded, broken down by province and territory?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1079--
Mr.Ted Hsu:
With regard to the Canada Border Services Agency: (a) what have been the total expenditures to maintain the customs building on Cornwall Island since 2008, broken down by fiscal year; (b) what is the estimated current market value of the customs building on Cornwall Island; (c) does the Agency have plans for future operation, use, disposition, or disposal of the customs terminal on Cornwall Island; (d) if the answer to (c) is affirmative, what are the particulars of those plans; (e) what have been the total expenditures to maintain and operate the temporary customs terminal on Three Nation Bridge, or adjacent to the recently-constructed low-level bridge, broken down by fiscal year; and (f) what are the details of the plans, projected costs, and anticipated timeline for the construction of a permanent customs terminal at the Cornwall–Akwesasne–New York State border crossing?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1080--
Ms. Yvonne Jones:
With regard to materials prepared for past or current deputy heads of departments, crown corporations and agencies or their staff from April 1, 2011, to March 31, 2013: for every briefing document or docket prepared, what is (i) the date, (ii) the title or subject matter, (iii) the department’s internal tracking number?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1081--
Ms. Yvonne Jones:
With regard to materials prepared for past or current ministers or their staff from April 1, 2011, to March 31, 2012: for every briefing document or docket prepared, what is the (i) date, (ii) title or subject matter, (iii) department’s internal tracking number?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 1083--
Mr. Claude Gravelle:
With regard to government funding: what is the total amount allocated for fiscal year 2013-2014 within the constituency of Nickel Belt, specifying each department, agency, initiative and amount?
Response
(Return tabled)
8555-412-1056 Government grants8555-412-1059 Government investments8555-412-1061 Tabling of treaties8555-412-1063 Fire safety on-reserve8555-412-1066 Government communications8555-412-1068 Small Craft Harbours Program8555-412-1069 Legal recourse8555-412-1071 Hiring and promotion practices8555-412-1072 Daily Values8555-412-1077 Commercial railway safety ...8555-412-1078 Social housing ...Show all topics
View Murray Rankin Profile
NDP (BC)
View Murray Rankin Profile
2015-03-27 13:47 [p.12489]
Mr. Speaker, that is a difficult act to follow, but I will do my best.
Motion No. 533 is very specific in what it requests. It talks about how the federal government, in exercising its jurisdiction, should be submitting natural resource development projects to a broader consultation with first nations and citizens in communities and urban areas. That is the breadth of what is being proposed here. It makes a very broad yet very succinct request of this House.
In addressing the motion, I would like to talk about the nature of public participation, the nature of environmental assessment processes and the aboriginal issues relating to that, and finally about projects in British Columbia that are before us today, namely the Enbridge northern gateway and the Kinder Morgan projects, a lens through which I hope to examine the failure of a credible public participation process—not only, as the motion said, for first nations, but also for citizens in our various communities.
There is a vision for a new energy future that the Leader of the Opposition has articulated in the Policy Options magazine in September and October last year. It is quite interesting, because in that article he starts by talking about the crossroads we are at when it comes to aboriginal involvement in development. He talks of the Supreme Court of Canada's watershed case in the Tsilhqot’in matter that has driven home the fact that resource development will simply not happen without proper first nations consultation and accommodation.
I stress the word “proper” because it is not a “nice to have”, as the government treats public participation; it is a constitutionally required activity, a consultation that is not just about counting boxes and putting little ticks beside them to confirm we have had a chat. It is about a genuine good faith engagement with first nations when resource development affects either their rights or aboriginal title. When I say “title”, of course that is the burden of the Tsilhqot’in case that has been such a watershed development in our part of the world and across Canada.
Let us remember that in the Haida decision, the Supreme Court of Canada said:
Prior to establishment of title, the Crown is required to consult in good faith with any Aboriginal groups asserting title to the land about proposed uses of the land and, if appropriate, accommodate the interests of such claimant groups.
In comparison, the court was clear in Tsilhqot’in that after aboriginal title has been established, the default focus is consent:
After Aboriginal title to land has been established by court declarations or agreement, the Crown must seek the consent of the title-holding Aboriginal group....
What has the Government of Canada done in response to that? What has it done in response to the excellent report by its hand-picked appointee, Mr. Douglas Eyford, who worried that projects are failing because industry has been left alone to navigate the consultation and accommodation process? The government has done nothing. It has left us with a vacuum. It has left us with projects that may or may not be in the public interest but will never proceed, because first nations have not had the constitutional rights accorded to them by the current government.
The government first tried to download it to industry, which pushed right back and said that it was the honour of the crown that was at issue and that industry was not the crown. That has been a bit of a dead end, and it is tying up development that may be in the public interest across this land. It is simply shameful.
The ultimate form of consultation in our province is called the treaty process. This past week we heard that the Government of British Columbia is essentially walking away from the BC Treaty Commission. It cannot seem to find a person to appoint to that process.
Has the Government of Canada been yelling from the rooftops that it is committed to this process, that it has spent billions of dollars trying to engage first nations in unceded land and that through the process of good faith negotiations, it is trying to address those land claims? The answer is no. I have not heard the government say one thing about the crisis facing the BC Treaty Commission. I have heard Chief Sophie Pierre say it and I have heard Jerry Lampert, the federal appointee on the commission, say it, but I have not heard the Prime Minister or a single parliamentarian address that crisis.
It is a crisis not only because billions have been spent, but because that is the way in which we truly engage with first nations to achieve resource development that is meaningful and in the interests of not just the first nations communities but the people of Canada. It is a crying shame the Conservatives seem to have let that wither on the vine.
Douglas Eyford, whom the government appointed after the debacle of the Enbridge process, recommended a special fund for consultation with first nations. That dies this year. The government will not bring a budget forward and we do not know whether it will be continued and, if so, to what degree. That is another example of the lack of concern the Conservatives have for engaging in what the courts have termed “nation-to-nation consultation” with our first nations communities.
It is no wonder this motion was brought forward to demand that this occur. It is not only in the interest of first nations, it is in the interest of all Canadians that the process of reconciliation, which the Supreme Court has demanded of us, be finally addressed, and it is not.
I could spend time on first nations and more so, but I want to talk about the environmental assessment process.
Everyone knows that Bill C-38 gutted the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. We heard that loud and clear in the travesty of the Enbridge northern gateway consultation process. Over 130 first nations across British Columbia announced their opposition. Nearly 10,000 Canadians told the joint review panel that they opposed this project. Towns and cities across Canada oppose it. The community of Kitimat, in a referendum, told the people of Canada that they did not want any of this. Was it approved? Yes. The Government of Canada did not seem to care. So much for consultation. The level of cynicism that the Conservatives have engendered in the people of my province is absolutely tangible.
When we talk to younger Canadians about their engagement in the process, they say “Why bother?” The Conservatives create these little processes and ignore them. It does not matter how many people speak out because it does not seem to make any difference.
If we get into a protest, for example on Burnaby Mountain, and Grand Chief Stewart Philip is arrested, he tells us that under the new and improved national security legislation, his advocacy, protest and dissent will not be in that context lawful because it is subject to an injunction and that he will somehow be on a terrorist list. So much for participation in that project.
What the Conservatives do not seem to get is that they cannot proceed with resource development that may well be in everyone's interest unless they get a social licence. People in our province are having none of these projects because they realize the process by which they are being reviewed completely ignores the consultation that is required.
That is why I was so proud to stand in this place and support a bill introduced by my colleague, the MP for Skeena—Bulkley Valley, Bill C-628. It would, among other things, absolutely improve the level of consultation that this motion would require us to do. One of the things that bill would do would require a report to be submitted to a joint review panel or National Energy Board, as the case may be, that would include a summary of those positions taken by municipalities, first nations and individuals and specify how the board took each position into account in deciding whether to recommend the issuance of a certificate for a pipeline. Accountability is about that. It is ensuring what people say actually matters. That is why they would be unable to ignore the 10,000 people opposed to the Enbridge northern gateway pipeline proposal. Yet the government has the audacity to simply say no problem going ahead.
Closer to home, in my community, we have another proposal coming forward, and that is the famous Kinder Morgan project, in which Trans Mountain's application to double its pipeline and radically increase the number of tankers on our coast is being considered. How can the proponent ever achieve the social licence required when so many people have said that the process of consultation is broken?
The former head of BC Hydro, in a scathing letter, withdrew, saying it was a joke. Standing is being restricted to those “directly affected, reducing the number and diversity of interveners and limiting the participation to a single letter”. That is of course is subject to a charter lawsuit claiming it violates freedom of expression.
Consequently, that is another example of why the motion is so desperately required that government can begin to take consultations seriously so it would improve the life of not only first nations, but all Canadians.
View John Barlow Profile
CPC (AB)
View John Barlow Profile
2015-03-25 16:02 [p.12311]
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the parliamentary secretary for sharing his time with me today.
I am pleased to have the opportunity to participate in today's debate on Bill C-26, the tougher penalties for child predators act. Today I am going to focus the bulk of my remarks on the part of Bill C-26 that creates higher penalties for breaches of supervision orders. However, I want to devote a few moments on the other key features of this initiative.
I am a father of three children, and as such, it is important to me to highlight the end goal of Bill C-26: deterring child predators and focusing on the seriousness of child sexual offences. One way we can achieve that is through higher mandatory minimum penalties and higher maximums.
However, one of the reasons I am supporting Bill C-26 is that the amendments also clarify and codify the use of consecutive sentences in child sexual abuse cases. This would ensure not only consistency in application of the law but also justice for each life devastated by an offender's sexual abuse.
The amendments to supervision orders in this bill are yet another facet of this criminal law initiative that would strengthen the protection of children from sexual predators.
Supervision orders empower judges to impose conditions on child sexual offenders or persons who might commit child sexual offences. There are various orders a court can use to ensure the supervision of the offender in the community. These orders include probation orders, peace bonds, and prohibition orders. It is important to understand how each of these orders operates to fully grasp how they would achieve the underlying objective of Bill C-26. The underlying objective is to protect children from sexual predators.
First, probation orders can be imposed where offenders are sentenced to less than two years of imprisonment. They can also be stand-alone orders, and in all cases, they have a maximum duration of three years. These orders can vary substantially in scope. For instance, some conditions, such as keeping the peace, are mandatory, whereas other conditions are left to the discretion of a judge. These conditions can also include requiring the offender to be under house arrest except for predetermined absences, such as employment. These optional conditions must be reasonable, clear, and most importantly, certain. These conditions aim to protect society by preventing recidivism and facilitating the offender's successful rehabilitation and safe re-insertion into the community.
Peace bonds, on the other hand, can be used where there is a reasonable fear that a person will commit a child sexual offence. In fact, section 810.1 of the Criminal Code allows any person, under reasonable grounds, to lay information before a provincial court judge based on a fear that an individual will commit a certain sexual offence against a young person under 14 years of age. A court will order a person to enter into a peace bond if it is convinced, on a balance of probabilities, that the informant's fear is reasonably grounded. Peace bonds can encompass a variety of conditions, including prohibiting an offender from communicating on a computer with young people or attending public places where children could reasonably be expected to be present.
Lastly, prohibition orders allow courts to prohibit the offender from having contact with children where there exists an evidentiary basis for concluding that the offender poses a risk to young children. This prohibition may take different forms, such as a ban from specified places where children are present, restriction on employment involving a position of trust or authority over children, and access to the Internet.
The Criminal Code requires a judge to consider such orders in every case involving an enumerated offence, and they can last for the offender's lifetime.
Maximum penalties for breaches of probation orders, peace bonds, and prohibition orders, referred to collectively as supervision orders, would be increased under Bill C-26. This would ensure that those who violate conditions imposed by the courts to protect children would be held accountable.
Bill C-26 would raise the maximum penalty for breaches of all supervision orders from two to four years on indictment. In addition, it would increase the maximum penalty for breaching prohibition and peace bonds from six months to 18 months on summary conviction. The proposed new maximums would ensure that offenders who breached these supervision orders were liable to the same penalties, regardless of the type of order, according to whether the breach was a prosecuted indictment or a summary conviction.
Furthermore, fines for breaching probation would increase from $2,000 to $5,000. The supervisory aspect of these orders helps to rehabilitate offenders, but, more importantly, ensures the maintenance of a just, peaceful, and safe society.
According to Statistics Canada, a number of studies with a follow-up period of 15 years noted that the average rate of recidivism among sex offenders is about 24%. However, alarmingly, the highest rate for recidivism found in this review was 35.5% for a sample of offenders who sexually offended against children. These offenders were followed for a 23-year period. The source of that information is the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics in a study called “Police-reported sexual offences against children and youth in Canada, 2012”, which was released on May 28, 2014.
It is, therefore, absolutely crucial that serious breaches of these conditions be denounced and deterred. One way that Bill C-26 would protect children is by ensuring that once child sexual offenders are released into the community, a breach of their conditions will result in serious consequences commensurate with the objective that these types of orders are designed to fulfill—namely, the protection of the most vulnerable members of our communities, our children.
For instance, a key component of the sentencing reform in Bill C-26 would ensure that any evidence that an offence was committed while the offender was subject to a conditional sentence, on parole, or while on statutory release would be an aggravating factor in their sentencing. Treating such instances as aggravating factors is necessary to denounce, deter, and punish offenders who deliberately persist in reoffending even after they have been placed under varying forms of supervision.
Such amendments are also necessary to protect the community when rehabilitative and reintegration efforts are clearly not working for these offenders. Increased penalties for those who violate conditions imposed by the courts to protect children would serve two very important functions: first, they would hold offenders accountable; second, they would prevent future harm to vulnerable children. This is especially true in the context of child sexual offences, where breaches of supervision orders may indicate a risk that the offender will re-victimize children. Thus, increasing the minimum and maximum penalties for breach of supervision orders is an important tool that courts can use in appropriate circumstances. Not only would these measures dissuade offenders from committing offences, but they would also separate child sexual predators from society before they commit repeat offences.
Breaching a supervision order is not a trivial offence. For instance, persons subject to probation and prohibition orders have already been processed through the criminal justice system and released on conditions that are intimately intertwined with the alleged or previous offences committed. As such, breaching these orders is serious, because it is concrete acknowledgement of a refusal by that offender to be rehabilitated. We must send a clear message. Such breaches require a clear, proportionate, and dissuasive response.
It is important to remember that these supervision orders have not been imposed in a vacuum. Combined, the amendments in Bill C-26 would send a clear message. We will not allow offenders to commit crimes with impunity while being under community supervision, especially when such breaches put children at risk. Additionally, they would achieve consistency in punishment for all heinous sexual offences against children.
These features of Bill C-26 are important and necessary. As a result, I urge all hon. members of the House to support this bill and its swift passage.
View Bruce Stanton Profile
CPC (ON)

Question No. 958--
Mr. Don Davies:
With regard to Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions under all international trade and investment agreements to which Canada is a party: (a) how many ISDS proceedings is Canada involved in (i) as a claimant, (ii) as a respondent; (b) for each year between 1994 and 2014, how much money has Canada spent (i) advancing its legal claims as a claimant, (ii) defending its legal claims as a respondent; and (c) how many ISDS claims has Canada lost as a respondent and how much money has it been ordered to pay to each successful claimant for each year between 1994 and 2014, with each claimant and award amount separately identified?
Response
Hon. Ed Fast (Minister of International Trade, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, with regard to international trade, the government’s top priority is creating jobs and economic opportunities for hard-working Canadians and their families.
Investor state dispute settlement, ISDS, has been a core element of Canada’s trade policy for more than a generation.
Trade and investment agreements protect Canadian investors abroad, including against discrimination and expropriation without compensation. They provide Canadian businesses with access to impartial recourse to an independent, international body to resolve disputes. ISDS allows Canadian investors to seek remedies directly for violations of investment protection obligations.
None of Canada’s trade and investment agreements prevent any level of government in Canada from regulating in the public interest, nor do they exempt foreign companies that operate in Canada from Canadian laws and regulations.
ISDS allows Canadian investors to bring claims directly against foreign governments. Therefore it is not possible for Canada to be a claimant in an investor state dispute. Canadian investors can and have been claimants abroad.
Canada has been a respondent in 22 investor state disputes: twelve are concluded, two were submitted to arbitration but were withdrawn, and eight are ongoing. The Government of Canada is committed to transparency in ISDS and therefore posts online information about all ongoing cases. For details, see: http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/topics-domaines/disp-diff/gov.aspx?lang=eng.
ISDS allows Canadian investors to bring claims directly against foreign governments. Therefore it is not possible for Canada to be a claimant in an investor state dispute. Canadian investors can and have been claimants abroad.
Approximately $27,350,446.22 has been spent relating to the defence of its legal claims as a respondent. In three cases, the tribunal ordered $1,650,200.55 of these expenditure amounts to be reimbursed to Canada. This amount is not reflected here.
Since 1994, Canada has lost three investor state disputes as a respondent: S.D. Myers v. Canada, Pope & Talbot v. Canada and Mobil & Murphy v. Canada. In respect of these cases, Canada has paid the following: in the S.D. Myers v. Canada dispute, $6.9 million Canadian plus interest for legal costs and damages; and in the Pope & Talbot v. Canada dispute, $581,766 U.S., or approximately $6 million Canadian plus interest for a portion of the arbitral fees and damages. No payment has been made to date to Mobil & Murphy.
To the extent that the information that has been requested is protected by litigation privilege, the federal crown asserts that privilege and, in this case, has waived that privilege only to the extent of revealing the total aggregate legal cost.

Question No. 961--
Mr. Don Davies:
With regard to lands owned by the government or crown corporations: (a) what is the total number of distinct properties that exist within the municipality of Vancouver, broken down by (i) name, (ii) address, (iii) current use; and (b) what is the total number of distinct properties that exist within the boundaries of the federal electoral district of Vancouver Kingsway, broken down by (i) name, (ii) address, (iii) current use?
Response
Hon. Tony Clement (President of the Treasury Board, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, the Directory of Federal Real Property is the central record and only complete listing of real property holdings of the Government of Canada.
The directory can be accessed at the following website: www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/dfrp-rbif/introduction-eng.aspx.

Question No. 978--
Mr. Emmanuel Dubourg:
With regard to Canada Post and the process described on its “Canada Post Pay Equity Decision” webpage, further to the Supreme Court ruling of November 17, 2011, in favour of the Public Service Alliance of Canada: how many employees or former employees (a) have applied online; (b) have confirmed their postal code; (c) have been sent the information package; (d) have provided the information requested in the package; (e) have been sent their payment; (f) have not yet been sent their payment; and (g) have an active file that has not yet been closed due to a payment or a refusal of payment?
Response
Hon. Lisa Raitt (Minister of Transport, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, Canada Post has been working diligently on the pay equity file to ensure accurate data and process payments as quickly as possible.
Canada Post has sent out payments to almost 10,000 individuals identified as eligible. Every current and former eligible employee that Canada Post has been able to locate a current address for has been paid. Canada Post is working with the Canada Revenue Agency to find others that it may not have current information for, in order to complete any outstanding cases.

Question No. 996--
Ms. Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe:
With regard to the Citizenship and Immigration Canada's pilot project for LGBT refugees: (a) to date, how many refugees have been sponsored through the project; (b) how many of the sponsored refugees are present in Canada; (c) how much of the funding budgeted for the pilot project by the government has been spent; (d) how many sponsors participated in the pilot project; and (e) have any evaluations been conducted on the pilot project?
Response
Hon. Chris Alexander (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, insofar as Citizenship and Immigration Canada is concerned, (a) to date, 32 refugees have been sponsored through the Rainbow Refugee Committee project and,
(b) 26 persons sponsored under this initiative have arrived in Canada.
(c) All of the $100,000 budgeted for this pilot project has been spent.
(d) Five sponsorship agreement holders have participated in the pilot project.
(e)There has been no evaluation of the pilot project to date.

Question No. 1001--
Hon. John McCallum:
With regard to permanent frozen allotments: (a) which departments or agencies have been directed by the Treasury Board to permanently withhold spending on one or more specific initiatives in fiscal year (i) 2014-2015, (ii) 2015-2016, (iii) 2016-2017; (b) what is the official name for each frozen allotment in fiscal year (i) 2014-2015, (ii) 2015-2016, (iii) 2016-2017; (c) what are the details of each initiative subject to a permanent frozen allotment in fiscal year (i) 2014-2015, (ii) 2015-2016, (iii) 2016-2017; and (d) how much money has been frozen for each identified initiative in fiscal year (i) 2014-2015, (ii) 2015-2016, (iii) 2016-2017?
Response
Hon. Tony Clement (President of the Treasury Board, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, the Treasury Board acts on all matters relating to the general administrative policy in the federal public administration and financial management. As well, the Treasury Board reviews annual and longer-term expenditure plans and programs of departments, and the determination of priorities with respect thereof.
With regard to (a), Treasury Board is a cabinet committee and as such its decisions are cabinet confidences. The powers of the Treasury Board are laid out in the Financial Administration Act and do not include the power to direct departments and agencies to permanently withhold spending.
With regard to (b), (c) and (d), volume III of the Public Accounts will publish, for each departmental vote, the total amount that remained frozen at year-end, at which point all remaining frozen allotments will be considered to be “permanent”. The documents will be available at: http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/cpc-pac/index-eng.html.

Question No. 1002--
Hon. John McCallum:
With regard to frozen allotments: (a) which departments or agencies were directed by the Treasury Board to withhold spending on one or more specific initiatives in fiscal year (i) 2011-2012, (ii) 2012-2013, (iii) 2013-2014; (b) what is the official name for each frozen allotment in fiscal year (i) 2011-2012, (ii) 2012-2013, (iii) 2013-2014; (c) what are the details of each initiative subject to a permanent frozen allotment in fiscal year (i) 2011-2012, (ii) 2012-2013, (iii) 2013-2014; and (d) how much money was frozen for each identified initiative in fiscal year (i) 2011-2012, (ii) 2012-2013, (iii) 2013-2014?
Response
Hon. Tony Clement (President of the Treasury Board, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, volume III of the Public Accounts published, for each departmental vote, the total amount that remained frozen at year-end, at which point all remaining frozen allotments are considered to be “permanent” for that year.
Here are the links to relevant online documents.
For 2011-12, please see: http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/201/301/public_accounts_can/html/2012/recgen/cpc-pac/2012/vol3/s10/bdgtr-ffcttn-eng.html.
For 2012-13, please see: http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/201/301/public_accounts_can/html/2013/recgen/cpc-pac/2013/vol3/s10/dba-bda-eng.html.
For 2013-14, please see: http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/cpc-pac/2014/vol3/s10/dba-bda-eng.html.

Question No. 1014--
Mr. Robert Chisholm:
With regard to the home-equity assistance program administered by the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS): (a) what were the costs to TBS for the federal court case initiated by Major Marcus Brauer, broken down by (i) legal costs, (ii) staff costs; (b) what was the cost of the third party review of the Bon Accord real estate market order by Judge Richard Mosley; and (c) what is the estimated cost to the TBS for the class action suit for home equity assistance?
Response
Hon. Tony Clement (President of the Treasury Board, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, with regard to the home equity assistance program administered by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, the legal costs to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat for the Federal Court case initiated by Major Marcus Brauer were $58,646.26. This includes $25,376.04 corresponding to Mr. Brauer’s legal fees and disbursements and $33,270.22 corresponding to the federal government legal costs. It is not possible to ascertain the staff costs attributable to this specific case.
The cost of the third party review of the Bon Accord real estate market order by Judge Richard Mosley was $5,998.36.
The proposed class action suit for home equity assistance in Dodsworth v. Her Majesty the Queen is still at a preliminary stage before the Federal Court.
View Joe Oliver Profile
CPC (ON)
View Joe Oliver Profile
2015-02-25 15:37 [p.11678]
moved that bill be read the third time and passed.
He said: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to voice my support for Bill C-26, the tougher penalties for child predators act, during third reading debate. This is critical legislation that addresses concerns that I believe we all share.
Bill C-26 reflects the ongoing efforts by this government to combat all forms of child sexual exploitation and denounce the grave and reprehensible nature of such heinous crimes. The bill is another concrete example of our commitment to protect Canadian families, communities and, above all, to protect the most vulnerable and valuable members of our society, our children.
We know that children are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation, and are far more likely to be victims of sexual crimes than are adults. Our violent crime rates are trending downward in Canada. It is very worrisome that the number of child sexual offences reported to police continues to rise.
In 2013, police reported some 4,200 incidents of sexual violations against children, a 6% increase in the rate from the previous year. As noted by Statistics Canada, in its report on police reported crime released in July 2014, sexual offences against children was one of the few categories of violent crimes to increase in Canada in 2013.
I think we can all agree that these numbers are a cause for concern. Let me assure the House that the troubling reality behind those numbers is exactly what the tougher penalties for child predators act aims to address.
One of the amendments to criminal law proposed in Bill C-26 seeks to deter people from committing such horrific crimes by ensuring that offenders are liable for the harm they cause children and by improving our capacity to monitor these offenders and prevent recidivism.
More specifically, Bill C-26 proposes increasing mandatory minimum penalties and maximum penalties for many sexual offences against children.
For example, Bill C-26 will ensure that anyone who commits any hybrid offence involving sexual contact is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years less a day when the person is found guilty on summary conviction and a term of 14 years when the person is found guilty on indictment.
Bill C-26 also proposes to increase the penalties for making and distributing child pornography and to make these offences strictly indictable to better reflect their seriousness. Child pornography offences can have long-lasting and devastating impacts on victims, particularly when images and videos are posted on the Internet. Once on the web, child pornographic images can quickly be disseminated around the world and might be accessed indefinitely, with the result of re-victimizing the child victim at every click.
This bill would also ensure that committing a child sexual offence while on a conditional sentence order, parole, or statutory release would be considered an aggravating factor for sentencing purposes to assist in preventing future offences by convicted child sexual offenders.
Bill C-26 proposes to increase maximum penalties for violations of prohibition orders, probation orders, and peace bonds. Canadians are rightly concerned about the mobility and conduct of known child sexual predators once they are released into the community. Stricter measures are needed to ensure that supervision orders are observed and that breaches of conditions result in appropriate consequences. These conditions, which may include refraining from being in contact with a victim or staying away from a specific household or prohibitions around the use of weapons, alcohol, or drugs, are imposed to protect the children. A breach of these conditions generally means that there is an increased risk that the offender may commit further sexual offences. Therefore, Bill C-26 would increase the maximum penalties for breaches of conditions of any of these orders, from six to 18 months if preceded by summary conviction, and from two to four years if preceded by indictment.
Bill C-26 not only sends a strong signal that the protection of children is a paramount value of Canadian society but also communicates the important message that every victim matters.
The reforms in Bill C-26 would also amend the Canada Evidence Act to ensure that spouses of individuals accused of child pornographic offences would be compellable witnesses for the crown. The testimony of an accused spouse may be required to facilitate the prosecution of a child pornography offence when the pornographic material is found on a home computer, for example.
However, the amendments set out in Bill C-26 do not stop there. In order to further address the risk that sex offenders pose to children, Bill C-26 proposes amendments to the Sex Offender Information Registration Act that would require sex offenders to notify authorities of any absences of seven days or more for any trip within Canada or abroad, as well as the dates of their travel and the locations where they will be staying.
It is important to note that child sex offenders will be expected to meet these obligations regardless of the duration of their trip.
The proposed amendments would also increase our knowledge of sexual offenders by authorizing the sharing of information on registered sexual offenders between National Sex Offender Registry officials and the Canada Border Services Agency. In particular, this would assist in preventing and addressing offenders who travel abroad to commit sexual offences against children.
Bill C-26 also proposes to create a national, publicly accessible database of high-risk child sexual offenders who have been the subject of a public notification in a provincial or territorial jurisdiction. A centralized database would help to ensure that law enforcement and the public had greater access to information about high-risk child sex offenders.
Our government recognizes that the issue of child sexual exploitation is not one dimensional and requires a multi-pronged or holistic approach. Although the criminal law reforms proposed in Bill C-26 are a critical part of the overall response, I am pleased that our government has dedicated over $10 million since 2010 for 21 new or enhanced child advocacy centres to address the needs of child and youth victims of crime and to assist with the recovery of victims who have suffered significant trauma as a result of those heinous crimes.
The bill aims to further protect the most vulnerable members of our society, our children, from exploitation by providing measures designed to deter and denounce crimes of a sexual nature committed against them.
The sentencing amendments proposed in the bill include mandatory consecutive sentences, which would ensure that in cases of multiple crimes, including in instances where offences were committed against multiple victims, offenders would not receive what is commonly coined a “sentence discount” at the time they were sentenced.
Before describing the specifics of these amendments, allow me to provide some background with respect to the existing sentencing principles that are applicable to multiple offences. I will then focus my remarks on the proposed amendments to the sentencing regime with respect to child sexual offences.
Generally, the Criminal Code provides that a court has the discretion to order that a term of imprisonment be served consecutively to any sentence the offender is already serving or to any other sentence of imprisonment the court imposes, whether it is a result of the non-payment of a fine or not. If this provision sounds confusing, it is because it represents an amalgamation of sentencing rules that pre-date Confederation. Moreover, amendments over the years have further complicated the statement of the rules contained within the Criminal Code.
In addition to these Criminal Code rules, case law offers guidance with respect to the circumstances in which consecutive or concurrent sentences are imposed on an offender.
In general, courts will order that the sentence for two or more offences arising out of one continuous criminal act or single transaction, also referred to as the “same event or series of events” rule, will be served concurrently, or if members prefer, simultaneously. In these cases, the offender will serve the longer of the sentences imposed.
Offences or multiple convictions that arise out of a separate criminal transaction generally will garner consecutive sentences, which are served one after the other. The imposition of concurrent sentences for offences committed as part of the same event or series of events usually reflects the fact that the guilty mind of the accused is the same throughout the event or events, as opposed to offences arising out of separate criminal transactions. That said, courts will be reluctant to order that offences committed as part of the same event or series of events be served concurrently when it would allow the offender to commit subsequent offences with impunity, especially where the subsequent offence is particularly serious in nature.
For example, courts will order consecutive terms of imprisonment for an offence, the first offence, that is committed while fleeing from the police, the second offence. They will also order that an offence committed while on bail be served concurrently to the term of imprisonment for the predicate offence. The determination of whether sentences are to be served concurrently or consecutively, therefore, is a fact-specific inquiry as to whether the connection between the two offences is sufficiently close to warrant concurrent sentences.
It is important to outline the relevant sentencing principles at play, especially when discussing concurrent and consecutive sentences. The Criminal Code provides that the fundamental purpose of sentencing is to contribute to respect for the law and the maintenance of a just, peaceful, and safe society by imposing fit sentences that have one or more of the following objectives: denunciation, deterrence, separation of offenders from society, rehabilitation, reparation for harms done to victims, and the promotion of a sense of responsibility in offenders.
A fit sentence is one that is proportionate to the gravity of the offence and to the degree of responsibility of the offender. The Criminal Code explicitly directs that a fit sentence must focus on the objectives of deterrence and denunciation.
The last step a court must take before deciding whether to consider that any terms of imprisonment it imposes be served consecutively or concurrently is to consider the totality principle.
Pursuant to subsection 718.2(c) of the Criminal Code, a court that imposes consecutive sentences must determine whether the combined sentence is unduly long or harsh. In other words, the totality principle requires courts to determine whether the totality of the sentence adequately reflects the overall gravity of the offender's conduct. Where the court is of the opinion that the combined sentence is unduly long or harsh, it may order that some of the offences be served concurrently instead of consecutively.
However, where the Criminal Code prescribes mandatory consecutive sentences, a court may impose shorter sentences on some or all of the individual offences in order for the combined sentence to be a fit sentence.
This will be the case for the offences of possession of explosives for a criminal organization, the use of a firearm in the commission of an offence, terrorism offences, or criminal organization offences.
In these cases, the Criminal Code requires judges to order the term of imprisonment for these offences be served consecutively to terms of imprisonment imposed for other offences, whether they arise out of the same event or series of events or not.
The proposed amendments clarify and codify the rules regarding the imposition of consecutive and concurrent sentences, which I outlined earlier in my remarks.
The amendments would also require courts to order in certain cases consecutive sentences on offenders who commit certain sexual offences against children. This would be similar to the current requirement of consecutive sentences for offences that I mentioned earlier: terrorism, criminal organization offences, the use of a firearm.
Specifically, the bill proposes that sentences for child pornography offences be served consecutively to any sentence imposed at the same time for a contact child sexual offence.
It also proposes that in cases of multiple victims, sentences imposed at the same time for contact child sexual offences committed against one victim be served consecutively to those imposed for contact child sexual offences against any other victim.
These amendments recognize the increasing tendency of courts to direct that a sentence for possession or making of child pornography be served consecutively to a sentence for a contact child sexual offence, in recognition of the heinous nature of sexual offending against children, especially where the child pornography material is distributed via the Internet.
Furthermore, requiring child sexual offenders to serve sentences imposed for offences committed against different victims consecutively would address the so-called “volume discounts” given to child sexual offenders sentenced at the same time for multiple child sexual offences. This direction is also valid in cases of multiple child sexual offences, especially where there is more than one victim.
These proposed amendments will reinforce the continued efforts of this government to protect children against sexual offences by ensuring that these crimes are denounced, that child predators are deterred, and that every child victim counts.
In closing, I would encourage all members to support these important amendments that seek to protect our most vulnerable members of society, our young children.
View Thomas Mulcair Profile
NDP (QC)
View Thomas Mulcair Profile
2015-02-24 14:20 [p.11598]
Mr. Speaker, there are more people working in the parliamentary cafeteria than there are at SIRC. With nominations like that of Arthur Porter, it is hard to believe that the Prime Minister takes the role seriously.
The member of Parliament for Kitchener Centre and other members of the government caucus are calling on the Prime Minister to use the notwithstanding clause to go around a recent Supreme Court judgment on physician-assisted dying. Can the Prime Minister assure Canadians that he will not be using the notwithstanding clause to overrule the Supreme Court's unanimous decision on end-of-life care?
View Stephen Harper Profile
CPC (AB)
Mr. Speaker, the government said quite clearly that we respect decisions of the courts. We are taking a look at this decision. It is on a matter that is obviously very delicate and very divisive among Canadians. I do not consider this a partisan matter at all. We will listen to Canadians from all backgrounds and do that before deciding how to respond to the decision.
View Justin Trudeau Profile
Lib. (QC)
View Justin Trudeau Profile
2015-02-24 14:21 [p.11598]
Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court gave Parliament a year to implement legislation on physician-assisted dying. Parliament, therefore, has limited time to respond to this ruling in a manner that respects both the charter and Canadians' priorities.
Will the government support our motion to create a special committee and consult with Canadians? If not, will the Prime Minister share his plan to tackle this important issue?
View Stephen Harper Profile
CPC (AB)
Mr. Speaker, once again, the government does not consider this a partisan matter. This is a very delicate subject on which Canadians have a range of strongly held views.
There is a committee of the House of Commons, the justice committee, that has a mandate to study this, should it so choose. We will leave that decision to it.
In the meantime, the government intends to consult widely with Canadians to review the decision, and we will consult very comprehensively before deciding how to respond.
View Justin Trudeau Profile
Lib. (QC)
View Justin Trudeau Profile
2015-02-24 14:22 [p.11598]
Mr. Speaker, Quebec held a respectful and informed debate on the sensitive issue of medical aid in dying. The Supreme Court gave Parliament 12 months to address the matter.
With just 12 weeks of work left, we have time to get it done if we start right now.
How does the Prime Minister plan to meet the court's deadline? Can he tell us how he plans to tackle this important issue?
View Stephen Harper Profile
CPC (AB)
Mr. Speaker, this is a non-partisan matter about which Canadians have a range of opinions.
As the member pointed out, the Supreme Court gave Parliament a year to respond. We are reviewing the decision and consulting with Canadians. We will consult comprehensively before deciding how to respond.
View Justin Trudeau Profile
Lib. (QC)
View Justin Trudeau Profile
2015-02-24 14:23 [p.11598]
Mr. Speaker, since the Prime Minister did not answer the Leader of the Opposition's direct question either, I will ask it again.
We were concerned when we heard that one of the Prime Minister's MPs had raised the possibility of using the notwithstanding clause to overrule the court's decision.
Can the Prime Minister state clearly that he will not use the notwithstanding clause with respect to this important issue, yes or no?
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