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

With regard to grants and contributions under $25,000 granted by Status of Women Canada since January 1, 2008, what are: (a) the names of the recipients; (b) the amounts of the grant or contribution; (c) the dates of the grant or contribution; (d) the dates of length of funding; and (e) the descriptions of the purpose?

With regard to public opinion polling across all governmental departments since January 1, 2011: (a) how many polls were conducted by each department; and (b) for each poll, what (i) was the subject matter of the poll, (ii) questions were asked, (iii) was the sample size, (iv) was the period of time in which the poll was conducted, (v) were the results, (vi) was the department for which the poll was conducted?

With regard to the corporate asset review announced in the 2008 Economic and Fiscal Statement: (a) how many assets have been reviewed; (b) which assets were reviewed; and (c) were assets sold and, if so, (i) how many, (ii) what were they, (iii) what were the purchase prices, (iv) who were the buyers?

With regard to the firearms training program for Canada Border Services Agency officers: (a) how many training facilities are there; (b) where are these facilities located; (c) is accommodation for trainees and trainers located on site or provided through commercial sources; and (d) what is the duration of the program for the trainees?

With regard to Privy Council Office, what contracts under $10,000 did it award from September 1, 2009, to the present, including the vendor's name, the date, the amount and the description?

With regard to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT): (a) how important is the use of specific language in letters, speeches and interventions at multilateral meetings and in documents produced by DFAIT in determining Canada’s foreign policy; (b) is there a difference between the terms (i) “Child Soldiers” and “children in armed conflicts”, (ii) “International Humanitarian Law” and “International Law”, (iii) “gender equality” and “equality between men and women”, (iv) “impunity for sexual violence” and “prevents sexual violence”; (c) has the Minister of Foreign Affairs or his office been requesting regular changes to wording in foreign policy documents; (d) what was discussed by DFAIT officials at a meeting regarding this issue held on May 21, 2009 in USS’ boardroom A8-211 from 11:00 to 12:00; (e) was a coordinated departmental plan arranged at this meeting or future meetings about language at DFAIT; and (f) were any further meetings arranged to discuss language changes and, if so, how many meetings, who attended these meetings and what was decided at these meetings?

With regard to the $735,000 spent on furniture and high-end furniture purchased from G.H. Johnson's Trading Company Limited during the G20 summit: (a) what are all items purchased and the price paid; (b) if any, what are the items that have been sold and the sale price; (c) what are all items currently in use by the government and by which department is it being used; and (d) what are all items currently in storage and what is the cost associated with the storage?

With regard to the firearms training program for Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers: (a) what is the increase in pay or benefits as a result of an officer being certified to carry a firearm; and (b) how much has been spent to date on (i) transportation of trainees to training facilities, (ii) accommodation for trainees and trainers, (iii) employee benefits plans?

With regard to Bill C-471, An Act respecting the implementation of the recommendations of the Pay Equity Task Force and amending another Act in consequence: (a) which organizations, lobbyists and interest groups did each minister consult before May 5, 2010; (b) did any ministers receive briefing materials about this Bill; (c) what department or organization prepared these briefing materials; (d) what did these materials state; and (e) who were these materials given to?

With respect to missing and murdered Aboriginal women and the $10 million announced in Budget 2010 to address this issue: (a) with whom has the government consulted to determine where this money should be spent; (b) what process was adopted for determining where this money would be spent; (c) what groups has the government considered funding with this money; (d) how much of this money has been allocated; and (e) when will the rest of this money be allocated?

With regard to the firearms training program for Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers: (a) how many CBSA officers have participated in firearms training since the program’s inception in 2006; (b) how many CBSA officers have successfully passed the program; (c) how many CBSA officers are currently armed; (d) how many years will it take to train and arm all remaining CBSA officers and how much money does the government expect to spend on training for these CBSA officers; (e) what dollar amount has been spent so far on this program; (f) what government studies have been done on the effectiveness of this initative; (g) for every study in (f), what is the (i) title, (ii) author, (iii) date of publication, (iv) brief synopsis of its conclusions; (h) how many times has a CBSA officer used his or her weapon in the line of duty; (i) for every incident in (h), where did the incident take place and what is a brief description of the incident?

With regard to the Universal Child Care Plan: (a) how many child care spaces have been created each year, broken down by province, since the program’s inception in 2006; (b) how much has been spent each year, since 2006, on the development of child care spaces; (c) how many companies have made use of the 25 percent tax credit to create new child care spaces; (d) how many spaces have been created to date using this credit; and (e) what is the dollar value of the credits used?

With regard to the public office holders who have applied for exemptions under the Lobbying Act since its coming into force on July 2, 2008, and who were denied an exemption: (a) on what date did each individual apply for the exemption; (b) with which office was each individual employed at the time of the application; (c) on what date was each individual notified of the refusal; and (d) what was the reason for each refusal?

With respect to contracts under $10,000 granted by Status of Women Canada since January 1, 2008, what are: (a) the names of the contractors; (b) the amounts of the contracts; (c) the dates of the contracts; (d) the dates of completion; and (e) the descriptions of the services provided?

With respect to the Buffalo fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft which entered into service with the Canadian Armed Forces in 1967: (a) what was the original estimated operational lifespan of the aircraft; (b) how many aircraft are currently operational; (c) what is their current estimated operational lifespan; (d) what is the cost associated with maintaining the fleet for the previous fiscal year; (e) what measures are being taken to extend the operational life of the Buffalo; and (f) what are the operational capabilities of the current fleet?

With regard to the Department of Veterans Affairs and, more specifically, the Veterans Independence Program (VIP) and VIP expansion: (a) how many individuals received benefits from the VIP during the 2008-2009 fiscal year; (b) how many individuals received benefits from the VIP expansion during the 2008-2009 fiscal year; (c) why is the VIP expansion limited to survivors of those who had accessed the program prior to passing away; (d) how many individuals are currently excluded from the VIP expansion; and (e) what is the cost associated with allowing all survivors of Canadian veterans to access the program expansion?

With regard to the Justice Minister’s announcement on February 24, 2010, that the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) were under review: (a) why is the government reviewing these regulations; (b) what briefing materials were given to the Health Minister and Justice Minister before the decision was made to review the regulations; (c) who will the government consult with during this review; (d) has any consultation already been completed; (e) what does the government expect to learn from this review; and (f) what short- and long-term plans does the government have for the MMAR and the usage of marihuana for medicinal purposes in Canada?

With regard to Variety Village, a charity in the constituency of Scarborough Southwest: (a) on what grounds was its application for funding under the Recreational Infrastructure Canada program denied; (b) on what grounds was its application for $1,633,137 in federal funding under the Infrastructure Stimulus fund denied; and (c) does the government have any intention to allocate funding to Variety Village before it hosts events for the 2015 Paralympics Pan Am Games?

With regard to the preparation of the Speech from the Throne, which opened the 3rd Session of the 40th Parliament: (a) what is the total number of hours paid for by the government, in employee or contract services, in preparation of the Speech and what is the cost associated with those hours of work; (b) how many copies of the Speech were printed, for what cost and by which company; and (c) what is the distribution cost of the Speech?

With regard to applications for permanent residence processed by the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi: (a) how many spousal sponsorships, parental sponsorships and independent applicant cases have been received since the 2007-2008 fiscal year up to and including the current; (b) how many of the spousal sponsorships, parental sponsorships and independent applicants since the 2007-2009 fiscal year cases (i) were accepted, (ii) are still in process, (iii) have been refused, and for what reason; (c) what is the current length of time required to process the applications for (i) spousal sponsorships, (ii) parental sponsorships, (iii) independent applicants; (d) how many cases are in backlog and are or were the subject of enhanced security background checks; (e) how many staff are employed to process applications; and (f) what additional resources have been allocated to process the case backlog?