Questions and responses All Sessions January 17, 1994, to present

With regard to claims made under the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) since 2016: (a) what was the total cost of the RAP, broken down by year from 2016 to present; (b) how many total claimants received assistance under the RAP, broken down by year from 2016 to present; (c) what was the average payment per claimant under the RAP, broken down by year from 2016 to present, for (i) start-up costs, (ii) monthly income support; (d) what was the breakdown of claimants and their corresponding average payment amounts under the RAP, broken down by year from 2016 to present, for (i) single claimants (not claiming for any other family, spouse, or dependents), (ii) claims submitted for more than one individual (e.g., spouse, children, or other adults); (e) what was the average number of individuals included per claim, broken down by year from 2016 to present; (f) what was the average length of claims under the RAP, broken down by year from 2016 to present; and (g) what measures, if any, were implemented by the government to monitor the effectiveness of payments distributed under the RAP during this period?

With regard to government funding for electric vehicle (EV) battery plants, since November 4, 2015: (a) how much funding has the government provided for the (i) Northvolt EV battery manufacturing plant in Montreal, Québec, (ii) Volkswagen EV battery manufacturing plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, (iii) Stellantis LG EV battery manufacturing plant in Windsor, Ontario, (iv) Honda EV assembly, battery manufacturing, and cathode processing plant, in Alliston, Ontario, (v) General Motors CAMI assembly plant and refurbishment of the Oshawa plant, (vi) Asahi Kasei EV battery component plant, (vii) E-One Moli Energy lithium-ion battery cell production plant, in Maple Ridge, British Columbia; and (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by type of subsidy (construction, production, etc.) and the manner in which it was provided (direct payment, tax credit, etc.)?

With regard to Parks Canada's national fire management program: (a) as of July 22, 2024, what was the breakdown of firefighting equipment available through the program by (i) type of equipment (e.g., fire truck, water tender, helicopter, drone, portable pump, bulldozer, brush cutter, air tanker), (ii) quantity of each equipment type, (iii) storage location, including the quantity of each equipment type at each location; (b) as of July 22, 2024, what was the breakdown of firefighting personnel under the program by (i) qualification level (e.g., certified wildland firefighter, volunteer firefighter, support personnel), (ii) number of personnel at each location; (c) how much of the equipment and personnel specified in (a) and (b) were actively utilized in response to wildfires occurring in National Parks in 2024, broken down by (i) National Park location, (ii) type of equipment and number utilized, (iii) number of personnel deployed; and (d) for all equipment or personnel not utilized in wildfire responses occurring within National Parks in 2024, (i) what was the reason for non-utilization, (ii) what other roles or assignments were designated for this equipment and personnel during this period?

With regard to Parks Canada's fire mitigation measures: with the exception of Jasper National Park, what are the details of any other instance in the last 10 years where Parks Canada analyzed, considered, studied, or received a proposal to conduct a prescribed fire or other fire mitigation measure but did not end up doing so, including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) location, (iii) name of the national park or other area impacted, (iv) mitigation action proposed or considered, (v) reason for not taking the mitigation action, (vi) title of the person responsible for the decision not to take the mitigation action?

With regard to government procurement from entities currently banned from receiving investment in the United States by executive order due to posing security threats: (a) has any department, agency, Crown corporation or other government entity, purchased any materials, goods, software or services from the following entities, (i) China Head Aerospace Technology Co., (ii) China Telecommunications Corporation, (iii) Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co. Ltd., (iv) Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., (v) ZTE Co. Ltd., since 2016; (b) if the answer for any of the entities listed in (a) is affirmative, what are the details of all such purchases on contract, including, for each, the (i) name of the department, agency, Crown corporation or other government entity that made the purchase, (ii) date, (iii) vendor, (iv) value or amount, (v) description of the goods or services, including the quantity of each, if applicable, (vi) manner in which the contract was awarded (sole-sourced, competitive bid), (vii) start and end dates, if applicable; and (c) what measures or policies are in place to ensure that purchases from these entities do not compromise Canada's national security and align with international commitments and sanctions?

With regard to the Public Health Agency of Canada's procurement of ventilators from Canadian Emergency Ventilators Inc. in April 2020, and the subsequent sale of many of these ventilators as commodity code "9500 - Scrap metal" through the GC Surplus auction: (a) why were the ventilators classified and sold as scrap metal; (b) did the government offer these ventilators to the (i) provincial health authorities, (ii) National Emergency Strategic Stockpile, (iii) Department of National Defence, (iv) International Development section of Global Affairs Canada; (c) for each entity in (b) that received an offer, what reason was received by the government for the entity not accepting the ventilators; (d) for each entity in (b) that did not receive an offer, why did the government not offer the ventilators to them; (e) for the ventilators that have been disposed of to date, through either GC Surplus or other means, who was the recipient of the ventilators, what quantity did each recipient receive, and how much payment did the government receive; (f) have any of these ventilators ended up in private or for-profit health care entities, either in Canada or abroad, and, if so, what are the details; and (g) if the government does not know the answer to (f), why does the government not have that information?

With regard to the impact of the carbon tax on school boards, divisions, and educational institutions across Canada, since 2019: (a) how many school boards, divisions, and educational institutions have been consulted or met regarding the impact of the carbon tax on their financial situation, and what are the details of each such consultation, including (i) the date, (ii) who did the consultation, (iii) who was consulted, (iv) the location, (v) the type of consultation; (b) of the 10% of carbon tax revenues earmarked for funding programs aimed at reducing emissions, how much has been allocated to school boards, divisions, and educational institutions, broken down by (i) province and territory, (ii) year, (iii) recipient, (iv) project description; (c) what is the total amount of carbon price revenues collected from school boards, divisions, and educational institutions since 2019, broken down by (i) province and territory, (ii) year; (d) what is the government's estimate of the annual amount of carbon tax collected on gasoline or fuel purchased for school buses; (e) if the government does not have any estimate for (d), why has this not been studied; and (f) has the government conducted any analyses to determine the total financial net cost of the carbon tax on school boards, divisions, and educational institutions, and, if so, what are the details, including, for each, (i) the name of the study, (ii) who conducted the study, (iii) the date, (iv) the findings?

With regard to the government's carbon tax rebates owed to businesses since the implementation of the federal carbon pricing program in 2019: (a) what is the total amount still owed by the federal government in carbon tax rebates to businesses, broken down by (i) small businesses, (ii) medium-sized businesses; (b) what are the specific amounts owed to businesses in each province and territory, broken down by (i) small businesses, (ii) medium-sized businesses; (c) what measures is the government taking to ensure that outstanding carbon tax rebates are processed and delivered to businesses in a timely manner; and (d) how many businesses, broken down by size (i.e., small, medium) and by province and territory, have not yet received their carbon tax rebates?

With regard to the finding of the Auditor General that the government's ArriveCAN application mistakenly told 10,000 people that they needed to quarantine in June 2022: (a) what compensation or recourse has the government made available to these 10,000 people; and (b) which minister has taken responsibility for this mistake?

With regard to Parks Canada and the Sidney Island Deer Cull: (a) what are the total expenditures to date related to the cull, broken down by type of expense; (b) what are the details of all contracts awarded to date related to the cull, including, for each, the (i) vendor, (ii) date, (iii) value or amount, (iv) description of the goods or services, (v) manner in which the contract was awarded (i.e. sole-sourced versus competitive bid); (c) how many deer have been culled to date, in total and broken down by date; (d) what are the future planned dates of the cull; (e) how many more deer will be hunted as part of the cull; (f) what types and models of (i) firearms, (ii) ammunition, were used in the cull; (g) were the firearms and ammunition used obtained domestically or imported, and, if so, from what country; (h) were any of the firearms used classified as restricted or prohibited, and, if so, which ones; (i) did the RCMP or the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs give an exemption to the hunters to use restricted or prohibited firearms, and, if so, what are the details; (j) did all hunters who participated in the cull possess a valid Possession and Acquisition License, and, if so, what are the details of how these licenses were checked, including who checked them and on what dates; (k) why were Canadian hunters not offered the opportunity to cull the deer; (l) was a financial benefit analysis done regarding how much income would have been generated if Canadian hunters participated in the cull, and, if not, why not; and (m) were any of these deer shot from helicopters, and, if so, was permission received from Transport Canada prior to this occurring?

With regard to government advertising promoting or about the climate crisis, since 2016, and broken down by year: (a) what are the total amounts spent on such advertising; (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by type of advertising, or media outlet; and (c) what are the details of all contracts awarded related to the advertising, or the associated advertising campaigns, including any contracts associated with developing the content of any government websites or advertisements, including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) vendor, (iii) amount or value, (iv) description of the goods or services, (v) duration, if applicable?

With regard to the Canada Revenue Agency's (CRA) approach to carousel schemes and other GST/HST fraud, broken down by year since 2018: (a) what is the CRA's estimate on the amount of unwarranted payments it has paid out through GST/HST fraud; (b) of the amount in (a), how much does it estimate involved carousel schemes; (c) how much of the money paid out in (a) and (b) has been recovered to date; (d) how much of the money paid out in (a) and (b) does the CRA expect to recover; (e) what is the breakdown of where the fraudulent companies were located; and (f) what is the breakdown of the countries where the bank account into which the unwarranted payments were transferred to or cashed from?

With regard to the events attended in Toronto on September 22, 2023, by the Prime Minister with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, broken down by event: (a) how were the attendees chosen; (b) who vetted the attendees; (c) what process was used to vet the attendees; (d) how many people were in attendance; and (e) what were the costs associated for each event, broken down by item?

With regard to the Parliamentary Budget Officer's analysis of the Supplementary Estimates (B), 2023-24: what is the breakdown of the $500 million that is being frozen across 68 organizations to achieve the reductions in 2023-24, by organization and by object code?

With regard to judicial vacancies in the province of Alberta as of June 1, 2023: (a) how many vacancies are there in Alberta, broken down by level and type of court; (b) of the vacancies in (a), how long has each position been vacant for; (c) does the government have a timeline to fill each vacancy, and, if so, (i) when will all of the vacancies be filled, (ii) how many of the vacancies will be filled by the end of 2023; (d) what is the current backlog in the court's calendar, broken down by level and type of court; and (e) what is the government's reason as to why the vacancies have not yet been filled?

With regard to the report released by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) titled "What We Heard: Perspectives on Climate Change and Public Health in Canada": (a) what was the estimated cost of producing the report; (b) what is the itemized breakdown of all costs associated with the report; (c) what was the total number of PHAC and Health Canada employees who worked on the report; (d) what are the details of all contracts issued related to the report, including, for each (i) the vendor, (ii) the value, (iii) the description of goods or services provided, (iv) whether the contract was sole-sourced or awarded through a competitive bidding process; and (e) what was the total amount spent on (i) travel, (ii) hospitality, related to the report?

With regard to overpayments made by the Phoenix pay system, as of April 24, 2023: (a) what was the total amount of overpayments made by the system; (b) what was the number of employees who received overpayments; (c) what is the breakdown of (a) and (b) by department, agency, or other government entity that used the Phoenix pay system; (d) of the amount in (a), how much has (i) been recovered, (ii) not yet been recovered; (e) of the amount in (d)(ii), how much has been written off by the government; and (f) for each amount in (e), what was the reason for the write-off?

With regard to government measures to mark the one-year anniversary of the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine: (a) has the Privy Council Office (PCO) provided any guidance or direction with respect to displaying Ukrainian flags on Government of Canada buildings and properties to mark the one-year anniversary of the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine and, if so, what is that guidance or direction and on what date was it provided; (b) does the PCO support Government of Canada departments and agencies displaying Ukraine's flag on Government of Canada buildings and properties; (c) has Global Affairs Canada (GAC) provided any guidance or direction with respect to displaying Ukrainian flags on Government of Canada buildings to mark the one-year anniversary of the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine and, if so, what is that guidance or direction, and on what date was it provided; (d) does GAC support Government of Canada departments and agencies displaying Ukraine's flag on Government of Canada buildings and properties; and (e) what is the rationale for not displaying Ukraine's flag on Government of Canada buildings to mark the one-year anniversary of the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine?

With regard to expenditures related to conferences, since 2016, broken down by year and by department, agency, or other government entity: (a) what was the total amount spent on conference fees (object code 0823 or similar); and (b) what was the total amount spent on travel expenses for public servants attending conferences?

With regard to payments made by the Public Order Emergency Commission to Frank Graves or Ekos Research Associates Incorporated: (a) what are the details of all such payments made to date including for each (i) the amount, (ii) the recipient, (iii) the goods or services provided, (iv) the date, (v) whether the contract was sole-sourced or awarded through a competitive bidding process; and (b) for each payment made without a competitive bidding process, who made the decision to award the related contract to that specific vendor?