Questions and responses 45th Parliament, 1st session May 26, 2025, to present

With regard to the government’s correspondence and engagement with the International Criminal Court concerning the “Situation in Palestine,” and related communications with other countries, further to the government’s response to Order Paper Question Q-322: (a) given that a report published by The Canadian Jewish News on December 20, 2019, states that the Government of Israel, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, asked Canada to express support for Israel’s position regarding the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction over the situation in Palestine, can the government confirm (i) whether any such request or communication was received from the Government of Israel, (ii) the date and channel through which it was conveyed, (iii) the details of Israel’s request, (iv) the officials or departments involved in receiving or considering the request, (v) whether Canada provided any assurances, undertakings or commitments in response; (b) given that the same report, citing a Global Affairs Canada representative, also indicates that Canada sent a letter to the International Criminal Court in 2018 concerning the court’s jurisdiction, can the government confirm whether any such correspondence, diplomatic note or submission was sent by Canada to the International Criminal Court in 2018, and, for each such communication, what was (i) the date, (ii) the sender (department or official), (iii) the recipient, (iv) the subject matter; (c) if the government maintains that no such correspondence exists, what steps were taken to verify that position, including searches within Global Affairs Canada, Department of Justice Canada, and the Privy Council Office, and what were the dates and scope of those searches; (d) given that Amnesty International’s March 16, 2020, public statement asserts that Canada, in a communication to the International Criminal Court, alluded to its financial contributions to the court, which Amnesty International characterized as an implied threat to withdraw support, has the government reviewed this claim, and, if so, (i) what was the outcome of that review, (ii) will the government table in the House the records it examined to reach that conclusion; (e) between 2018 and 2024, did any Canadian official or representative, whether in written correspondence or oral communication with the International Criminal Court or Israeli officials, reference Canada’s funding, assessed contributions or financial support to the International Criminal Court in connection with the “Situation in Palestine”, and, if so, what are the details, including (i) the date, (ii) the official involved, (iii) the context, (iv) a summary of the communication; (f) if the government denies that any such communications, references or assurances occurred, will it commit to table in the House an index of all communications reviewed to substantiate that position; and (g) what communications has Canada had with the United States regarding the sanctioning of Canadian International Criminal Court judge Kimberly Prost, and what assistance is Canada providing to judge Prost given the impact of sanctions on her life and work?

With regard to Defence Construction Canada and the Department of National Defence, since 2015-16: (a) how much have Defence Construction Canada's budget and workforce increased, and what further increases are projected, broken down by year; (b) how many contracts has Defence Construction Canada completed for the Department of National Defence, and how many could have been performed by the Department of National Defence's Construction Engineering sector; (c) how many projects managed by Defence Construction Canada have involved contractor removals, defaults, premature terminations, or complaints; (d) what policies govern the Department of National Defence's and Defence Construction Canada's responses to unsatisfactory work, cost overruns, contractor fraud, conflicts of interest, and warranty or penalty provisions; (e) how many contracts have exceeded their original value, and what is the total value of cost overruns and follow-up deficiency work; and (f) what margins has Defence Construction Canada collected on projects, how are project managers compensated, and what policies govern contractor and subcontractor qualifications?

With regard to external contracts issued for civilian work within the Department of National Defence, broken down by fiscal year and province or territory since 2015-16: what is the total value of external contracts issued for (i) food services, (ii) cleaning, (iii) facilities maintenance, (iv) firefighting, (v) administration, (vi) information technology services, (vii) power engineers and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning services?

With regard to the government’s involvement in the CANSEC conference: (a) which department or agency of the government invites foreign delegations to attend CANSEC; (b) what delegations, from which countries, have been invited by the government to attend CANSEC; (c) how does the government assess the human rights records of foreign delegations invited to CANSEC; (d) has the government ever instructed the Canadian Commercial Corporation or any other department or agency not to invite specific delegations to CANSEC; (e) what type of visas are issued to foreign delegations attending CANSEC, and what is the application process for these visas; (f) have any foreign delegations ever been refused visas to attend CANSEC; (g) what is the total amount of funding provided by the government, through all departments, agencies, and Crown corporations, broken down by fiscal year, since 2015, to (i) CANSEC, (ii) the City of Ottawa for the purposes of CANSEC, (iii) the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries for the purposes of CANSEC; (h) are any conditions placed on the funding in (g)(i) to (g)(iii) in order to comply with international conventions such as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; (i) what is the Canadian Commercial Corporation’s relationship with the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries in preparation for the annual CANSEC conference; (j) what role does the Canadian Commercial Corporation play in promoting Canadian exports or services to foreign delegations at CANSEC and what are the details of these exports or services; (k) what role does the National Defence play in promoting Canadian exports or services to foreign delegations at CANSEC, and what are the details of these exports or services; (l) what role does Global Affairs Canada play in promoting Canadian exports or services to foreign delegations at CANSEC and what are the details of these exports or services; (m) what goods, technology and services were exhibited by the government at CANSEC, broken down by year, for each year since 2015; (n) what government employees participated in CANSEC, each year since 2015, and what are the details, including, for each, their (i) name, (ii) position, (iii) department, agency or Crown corporation; and (o) of the participants in (n), which were listed as speakers on the official agenda?

With regard to letters or official communications sent by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada to the International Criminal Court, between November 4, 2015, and September 16, 2025, concerning the Court’s jurisdiction over the situation in Palestine or the Palestinian Territories: (a) what were the details of each letter, statement, or formal submission sent by or on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to the International Criminal Court or the Office of the Prosecutor, including any positions taken with respect to the Court’s jurisdiction or admissibility over the situation in Palestine; (b) will the government table in the House of Commons complete and unredacted copies of these communications, and, if not, what specific statutory, regulatory or diplomatic grounds are being invoked to justify withholding them; (c) has the government sought, or does it intend to seek, the consent of the International Criminal Court or the Office of the Prosecutor to publicly release these letters, and, if not, why not; (d) what are the dates of each letter in (a), the names and titles of the signatories, and any reference numbers or subject lines used; (e) will the government table in the House of Commons any responses received from the International Criminal Court or its officials in relation to these letters, and, if not, why not; (f) do any of the communications in (a) make mention of Canada’s financial contributions to the International Criminal Court, directly or indirectly, and, if so, what was stated, and what was the context; and (g) are any Royal Canadian Mounted Police staff seconded to the International Criminal Court to work on (i) the investigation into Palestine, (ii) other investigations?

With regard to supply chain due diligence legislation and the office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise: (a) by what date will the government release the results of the five-year review of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, and what is the government’s plan for parliamentary input on this review; (b) by what date will a new Ombudsperson be appointed; (c) during the mandate of Interim Ombudsperson Masud Husain, how many (i) new complaints were received, (ii) complaints in (c)(i) met the intake criteria, (iii) initial assessments were completed, (iv) initial assessment reports were completed, (v) new investigations were undertaken, (vi) investigations in (c)(v) were joint fact finding, (vii) investigations in (c)(v) used independent fact finding, (viii) mediations were undertaken, (ix) mediations were completed, (x) final reports were completed; (d) what steps have the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development and Export Development Canada taken to respond to recommendations made by the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise in March 2024, in particular, (i) has the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development withdrawn trade advocacy support provided to Dynasty Gold Corporation at any time since March 2024, and, if not, why not, (ii) has Export Development Canada withheld financial support to Dynasty Gold Corporation at any time since March 2024, and, if not, why not; (e) by what date will the government meet its commitment to equip the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise with the power to compel documents and witness testimony necessary to effectively investigate complaints brought by impacted workers and communities, and will this involve legislation or regulations; (f) what is the status of the supply chain due diligence legislation committed to in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement and in the previous government’s mandate letter to the minister; (g) what concrete steps will the government take to ensure that the legislation in (f) is gender responsive, addressing the disproportionate risks faced by women, Indigenous and marginalized workers in global supply chains; (h) what concrete steps will the government take to ensure directly impacted people have access to remedy in Canadian courts; (i) which departments and agencies, and specifically which directorates, sectors and branches, have been involved in drafting legislation and budget proposals on supply chain due diligence; (j) by what date will the government implement the promised measures to improve enforcement of the forced labour import ban; (k) which departments and agencies, and specifically which directorates, sectors and branches, have been involved in drafting legislation and budget proposals on the issue in (j); (l) what measures is the government considering to increase the onus on importers to demonstrate their supply chains are free of forced labour; and (m) what additional resources will be allocated to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development and to the Canada Border Services Agency, and will these resources be announced in budget 2025?

With regard to the government’s standing agreements with the state of Israel, including the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement and the Canada-Israel Strategic Partnership: (a) what are the timelines, including specific or approximate dates if available, for both annual and comprehensive reviews; (b) what is entailed and who is involved in the reviews; (c) which departments and agencies, and specifically which directorates, sectors or branches are, involved in the reviews; and (d) what mechanisms, if any are available for public participation in this process?

With regard to Canada’s transfer of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter components to the United States, and the subsequent transfer of some of those components to the Israeli Air Force following their integration into the aircraft: (a) what is the current approximate value of Canadian technology integrated into each F-35; (b) what is the approximate value of Canadian technology integrated into each F-35 destined for the Israeli Air Force under production lots (i) 17, (ii) 18, (iii) 19; (c) which Canada-based manufacturers are sole-source or single-source suppliers of components to the F-35 program; (d) what mechanisms can Canadian officials utilize to ensure that Canadian components integrated into U.S.-built F-35s are not later transferred to Israel; (e) has Global Affairs Canada or the Canadian Commercial Corporation conducted any form of risk assessment, regarding the transfer of F-35 components to the United States which could later be transferred to Israel; and (f) if so, what were the findings of those assessments?

With regard to the implementation of Bill C-41, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other Acts: (a) what funds have been allocated under the new system, including (i) to which organizations, (ii) for work in which countries; (b) how many authorization applications has the government (i) made for its own activities, (ii) received from outside government, (iii) approved, and for which countries, (iv) sought for its own work in Afghanistan; (c) what is the wait time for applicants to receive a response from the government and, during those wait times, what projects have been halted or delayed; (d) what is the current list of countries and sub-regions for which an authorization is deemed necessary, and which deputy ministers, including their departments and agencies, are involved in developing this list; and (e) what is the wait time for security review for individuals listed in applications, and who is the current minister responsible for the security review?