Question No. 569--
Mr. Gérard Deltell:
With regard to the attendance by the Finance Minister on October 13, 2016, at an event hosted by the Laurier Club in Halifax, Nova Scotia: (a) what are all the details of all expenses related to travel and hospitality incurred by the Finance Minister and his exempt staff related to his trip to Halifax on or around October 13, 2016, including the amount spent on (i) air transportation, (ii) other transportation, (iii) hotels, (iv) per diems, (v) other expenses; (b) was government-owned aircraft used for any portion of the trip; (c) what are the details of any official government meetings or announcement the Finance Minister had on October 13, 2016, including (i) time, (ii) location, (iii) list of attendees; and (d) did the Finance Minister receive approval from the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner prior to attending the Laurier Club event, and if so, when was approval received?
Response
Mr. François-Philippe Champagne (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the expenses related to travel and hospitality incurred by the minister and his exempt staff related to his trip to Halifax on or around October 13, 2016 were $5,020.73 in total, of which (i) air transportation was $3,231.04; (ii) other transportation, $573.11; (iii) hotels, $757.77; (iv) per diems, $458.81; and (v) other expenses, $0.00.
With regard to (b), government-owned aircraft were not used for any portion of the trip.
With regard to (c), on Friday, October 14, Minister Morneau held an open town hall in Halifax as part of the pre-budget consultations for budget 2017. A photo opportunity and media availability took place at a local business in Dartmouth prior to the pre-budget consultation.
In particular, with regard to (c)(i) and (ii), the photo opportunity and media availability were held at 10:00 a.m. local time, at the Bodega Boutique, 104 Portland Street, Dartmouth, NS; and the pre-budget consultation was held from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. local time, at the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market, 1209 Marginal Road Halifax, NS.
With regard to (c)(iii), representatives from the following organizations attended: Nova Scotia Association of Realtors, Laing House, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia Community College’s Truro Campus, Efficiencyone, Canadian Medical Association, Leave Out Violence, Maritime Lumber Bureau, Metroworks, City of Halifax, Clean Foundation, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Easter Seals Nova Scotia, Municipality of the District of Digby, Nova Scotia Home Builders Association, the mortgage sector, CMBA Altlantic, National Bank, Common Goods Solutions, and Remax Nova.
With regard to (d), the Department of Finance does not have information regarding the minister’s private engagements.
Question No. 570--
Mr. Tom Kmiec:
With regard to the national debt of Canada: (a) what was the national debt on November 4, 2015; (b) what is the current national debt; and (c) what is the projected amount of national debt for the end of each of the following fiscal years (i) 2016-2017, (ii) 2017-2018, (iii) 2018-2019?
Response
Mr. François-Philippe Champagne (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the federal debt, or difference between the Government of Canada’s total liabilities and its total assets, is calculated on a monthly basis, once the annual financial results for the previous fiscal year, including the closing balance of the federal debt, have been finalized, audited, and published. The federal debt stood at $613.3 billion as of October 31, 2015, the month-end closest to November 4, 2015.
With regard to (b), based on the most recent finalized monthly results available, of August 31, 2016, the federal debt stood at $622.4 billion.
With regard to (c), as per the November 2016 “Update of Economic and Fiscal Projections”, the projection of the federal debt is (i) for 2016-17, $642.0 billion; (ii) for 2017-18, $669.8 billion; and (iii) for 2018-19, $695.7 billion.
Question No. 571--
Mr. Earl Dreeshen:
With regard to the attendance of the Minister of Finance at a fundraising event and the statement in the House from the Leader of the Government on October 20, 2016, that, “This event was open, and anyone who purchased a ticket was welcome to attend. The event was made public online,”: (a) what was the website address where the event was made public; (b) what were the dates, locations, and ticket prices for all similar type events where Ministers have been in attendance since November 4, 2015; (c) what are the dates, locations, and ticket prices for all similar type events which Ministers are currently scheduled to attend; and (d) what are the website addresses for all similar type events which Ministers are currently scheduled to attend?
Response
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, as this question does not relate to the administrative responsibilities of the government, the government has no information to provide.