Question No. 1568--
Mr. Martin Shields:
With regard to any contracts over $10,000 entered into by the government since January 1, 2016, but which were not disclosed on proactive disclosure: what are the details of all such contracts including (i) date, (ii) vendor, (iii) amount, (iv) description of goods or services provided, (v) file number, (vi) reason why contract was not listed on the relevant proactive disclosure website?
Response
Question No. 1584--
Mr. Peter Julian:
With regard to the Connecting Canadians Program: (a) which regional development agencies and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada programs related to regional economic development were consulted in the development of the program; (b) if any agencies or programs were not consulted, why was this the case; (c) how much has been allocated to the program since 2015-16, broken down by region and fiscal year; (d) how much has been spent on the program since 2015-16, broken down by region and fiscal year; (e) how many previously unconnected people, broken down by region and year, have been connected to high-speed Internet per the program’s definitions since it was launched, broken down by year and region; and (f) for each approved project, which communities were intended to be served?
Response
Question No. 1585--
Mrs. Kelly Block:
With regard to the various receptions held by or funded by the government, including the Canadian High Commission, in India during the Prime Minister’s trip in February 2018: (a) what were the dates and locations of each reception; and (b) for each reception in (a), what was the total (i) food catering costs, including set up and labour, (ii) beverage or alcohol costs, including set up and labour, (iii) other costs, including a breakdown of each?
Response
Question No. 1586--
Mr. Erin O'Toole:
With regard to expenditures in relation to the Canadian delegation to Davos, Switzerland, in January 2018, and based on invoices, contracts, or receipts received to date: (a) what is the total of all such expenditures; and (b) what are the details for each expenditure, including (i) vendor, (ii) amount, (iii) description of goods or services provided, (iv) file number, (v) date?
Response
Question No. 1587--
Mr. Erin O'Toole:
With regard to government expenditures, since December 1, 2017, for all vendors with a mailing address in Switzerland: what are the details of all such expenditures, including (i) vendor, (ii) amount, (iii) date, (iv) description of goods or services provided, (v) file number?
Response
Question No. 1588--
Mr. Guy Lauzon:
With regard to the statement by the Prime Minister on March 15, 2018, that “Dr. Boyer was recommended by the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments”: how does the government reconcile this statement with the fact that, as of the date of the appointment, all of the positions for provincial or territorial members of the Advisory Board were vacant, according to the board’s website?
Response
Question No. 1589--
Mr. Guy Lauzon:
With regard to the state visit of Their Majesties the King and Queen of the Belgians: (a) who was responsible for making the arrangements for Their Majesties’ arrival ceremony at Rideau Hall; (b) who ordered the German flags for use on the grounds of Rideau Hall for the arrival ceremony; (c) who was responsible for placing the German flags on site; (d) did the government apologize to the Government of Belgium for this incident; and (e) if the answer to (d) is affirmative, what are the details, including (i) who made the apology, (ii) to whom was it given, (iii) when was it given, (iv) what was the manner of the apology (e.g. formal letter, verbal)?
Response
Question No. 1590--
Mr. Guy Lauzon:
With regard to expenditures on paper calendars by the government, since November 4, 2015, and broken down by department, agency or other government entity: what is the total amount spent on paper calendars, broken down by year?
Response
Question No. 1591--
Mr. Guy Lauzon:
With regard to Statistics Canada and specifically the incident described in the March 11, 2018, CBC story, where 587 long-form census forms were stored in the trunk of an employee's vehicle that was stolen on a weekend trip to Montreal: (a) were the completed census forms ever recovered and, if so, when; (b) were the individuals whose information was stolen notified about the incident and, if so, when and how; (c) did the Statistics Canada employee who left the forms in his trunk violate any government policies or procedures and, if so, which ones; and (d) what specific changes have been made to the manner in which census information is stored as a result of this incident?
Response
Question No. 1592--
Ms. Rachel Blaney:
With regards to the 2016 Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) changes: (a) since July 2016, how many single seniors have received the full $947 annually, broken down by years and province; (b) since July 2016, how many single seniors have a received a top up due to the 2016 changes, broken down by years and province; (c) what was the median increase for a top up in the GIS due to the 2016 changes, broken down by years and province; (d) how many single seniors are below the $8,400 income threshold, broken down by years and province; (e) how many seniors living in an economic family are below the $8,400 income threshold, broken down by years and province; (f) what is the average top up due to the 2016 changes, broken down by year and province; (g) has the government achieved its goal of improving the financial security of about 900,000 single seniors; (h) how has the government arrived at the numbers indicating that changes to the GIS will reduce poverty rates; (i) are seniors becoming low income at much faster rate than the rest of the population; (j) how many Canadian seniors have lived in poverty since 2016; (k) how many full-time employees (FTE) are working on the Seniors Price Index; and (l) has the government looked at any other method than the consumer price index to calculate the GIS and, in the affirmative, which method?
Response
Question No. 1593--
Ms. Rachel Blaney:
With regard to automatic enrollment for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS): (a) were all local Service Canada employees sent a memo regarding the automatic enrollment; (b) if the answer to (a) is affirmative, what were the details of the memo; (c) if the answer to (a) is negative, why not; (d) what instructions and training did Service Canada employees receive in the months leading up to the automatic roll out of the GIS; (e) as of January 2018, how many new seniors are eligible to access (i) Old Age Security (OAS), (ii) GIS; (f) of those new eligible seniors in (e), how many were automatically enrolled and what are the reasons others who are eligible were not enrolled; (g) as of January 2018, how many letters have been sent out to seniors indicating they will automatically receive (i) OAS, (ii) GIS; (h) how many seniors automatically received their (i) OAS, (ii) GIS; (i) as of January 2018, how many seniors had to manually apply to (i) OAS, (ii) GIS; (j) what were the reasons for those seniors to manually apply to (i) OAS, (ii) GIS; (k) how many eligible seniors in Canada are not enrolled in (i) OAS, (ii) GIS; (l) has the government identified the reasons for this gap in (k); (m) is the automatic enrollment expected to reduce this and by what percentage point; (n) will the government automatically enroll all seniors currently eligible for the GIS and, in the affirmative, (i) what is the timeline for implementing this, (ii) how many seniors were not aware of their eligibility to the GIS program in 2017; (o) is the automatic enrollment in function of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) information; (p) is this in correlation the previous year’s income; (q) will filling income tax be necessary to be a recipient of automatic enrollment process; (r) if any, what are the exemptions, broken down by (i) health reasons, (ii) others; (s) how many seniors are expected to not be automatic enrolled due to missing CRA information; and (t) are there any identified groups of people that will be impacted due to their missing CRA information and, in the affirmative, how will Employment and Social Development Canada address this?
Response
Question No. 1594--
Mr. Ed Fast:
With regard to the Speaker’s ruling of March 20, 2018, that “There is no question that the work of Members of Parliament is made more difficult without expeditious access to legislative information. Given this reality, there is a rightful expectation that those responsible for the information should do their utmost to ensure Members access to it. Not respecting this expectation does a disservice to all. It is particularly disconcerting when the Government gives priority to the media over the Members of Parliament.”: What measures have been taken by the Prime Minister`s Office and the Privy Council Office to comply with the Speaker`s admonition in his ruling?
Response