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

With regard to federal funding to enable abortion access in Canada, since January 1, 2006: how much federal funding has been provided to ensure access to this healthcare service, broken down by (i) province or territory, (ii) year, (iii) program?

With regard to the government’s refocused spending initiative, broken down by department or agency, program and year: how much funding has been refocused away from initiatives that promote the protection of the environment and human health from hazardous chemicals, broken down by (i) chemicals management, (ii) pesticides and pest management, (iii) plastic pollution, (iv) enforcement?

With regard to the government’s refocused spending initiative, broken down by department or agency, program and year: how much funding has been refocused away from initiatives to protect nature and biodiversity, broken down by (i) species at risk, (ii) fish habitat, (iii) protected and conserved areas, (iv) national parks?

With regard to bicycles on VIA Rail trains: (a) what is the rationale behind the decision to not allow non-folding bicycles on VIA Rail trains as carry-on luggage when golf bags, hockey bags, skis, snowboards and paddleboards are allowed as carry-on luggage; (b) what is the rationale behind the decision to allow bicycles as checked baggage only on trains running on the Toronto–Vancouver, Montreal–Halifax, Sudbury–White River, Senneterre, Jonquière, Winnipeg–Churchill and Jasper–Prince Rupert routes, and only on those with a baggage car; (c) what is the rationale behind the decision to charge a $25 fee for checking as baggage a bicycle, electric bicycle, folding bicycle, child bicycle trailer, recumbent bicycle or a tandem bicycle when golf bags, snowboards, skis, skateboards, surfboards and paddleboards are free; (d) how do VIA Rail’s bicycle handling policies compare to those of railroads in France, the United States, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand; and (e) when will VIA Rail change its current policy on bicycles?

With regard to federal housing investments for military housing for Canadian Armed Forces members and their family, since January 1, 2006, broken down by province or territory and by year: (a) how much federal funding has been provided to support the construction of military housing; and (b) how many housing units were built?

With regard to the Housing Accelerator Fund, since September 1, 2023: (a) how many applications for federal funding were rejected or unsuccessful, broken down by (i) province or territory, (ii) municipality; and (b) what is the projected number of residences that could have been constructed if funding was provided?

With regard to federal expenditures on wildland fire management for 2023, broken down by province and territory: (a) what are the total expenditures to date on wildland fire protection and suppression, including (i) fire preparedness, (ii) mitigation, (iii) response, (iv) recovery; and (b) what are the total anticipated expenditures on wildland fire protection and suppression, including (i) fire preparedness, (ii) mitigation, (iii) response, (iv) recovery?

With regard to any polling data obtained by the Privy Council Office concerning policies affecting small and medium-sized businesses, since January 1, 2023: what are the details of all polling conducted, including (i) who conducted the poll, (ii) the start and end dates of when the poll was conducted, (iii) the number of participants, (iv) the questions asked, (v) the results of the poll, (v) the value of the contract related to the poll?

With regard to the administration of the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan: (a) on what dates do existing contracts with Accenture Inc. for the administration of CEBA end; (b) has the government approached Accenture Inc. about extending contracts related to the administration of the CEBA program; (c) has Accenture Inc. informed the government that it will not be able to continue the administration of the CEBA program; (d) has the government approached any other management firms or corporations with a sole-source contract in order to continue the CEBA program; and (e) has the government done any evaluations or assessments of the ability for Export Development Canada or another government department or agency to operate the CEBA program beyond the current end date?

With regard to the Canadian Armed Forces' (CAF) ability to assist with wildfire and emergency response management: (a) what evaluations and assessments of Canadian units and assets have been conducted to determine the CAF’s capability for wildfire and emergency response; (b) what were the findings of any evaluations or assessments in (a); (c) what are the details regarding assets and units that are currently able to respond to and assist with wildfire and emergency response, including the (i) asset type, (ii) asset's use in wildfire management and emergency response, (iii) estimated life cycle of the asset; and (d) what is the total number of CAF members currently trained to assist with wildfires, broken down by unit and training level as defined by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre?

With regard to the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA), broken down by province or territory: (a) what is the total number of businesses that received the CEBA loan; (b) what is the total loan amount provided to small businesses; (c) what is the total number of CEBA loans that have (i) been paid back in full, (ii) been paid back in part, (iii) not been paid back at all; (d) what is the total amount of CEBA loans that have been forgiven based on (i) repayment based on terms of the loan, (ii) reasons outside of the terms of the loan; and (e) what is the total number of small businesses that the government expects to miss the deadline for repayment?

With regard to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the Small and Medium Business Enterprises Directorate, broken down by year, from November 2015 to date: (a) how many audits were completed; (b) what is the number of auditors; (c) how many new files were opened; (d) how many files were closed; (e) of the files in (d), what was the average time taken to process the file before it was closed; (f) of the files in (d), what was the risk level of non-compliance of each file; (g) how much was spent on contractors and subcontractors; (h) of the contractors and subcontractors in (g), what is the initial and final value of each contract; (i) among the contractors and subcontractors in (g), what is the description of each service contract; (j) how many reassessments were issued; (k) what is the total net revenue collected; (l) how many taxpayer files were referred to the CRA’s Criminal Investigations Program; (m) of the investigations in (l), how many were referred to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada; and (n) of the investigations in (m), how many resulted in convictions?

With regard to the cost of fighting wildfires since 2012: (a) broken down by year from 2012 to 2022, what was the total federal expenditure each year for (i) international assistance provided to provinces and territories, (ii) assistance from the Canadian Armed Forces provided to provinces and territories, (iii) assistance from other federal departments and agencies provided to provinces and territories, broken down by department and agency, (iv) fighting wildfires inside national parks, (v) fighting wildfires on Indian reserves, (vi) fighting wildfires on other federal lands; and (b) what is the total federal expenditure in each category in (a) between January 1, 2023 and June 30, 2023?

With regard to the commitment to lowering credit card transaction fees for small and medium-sized businesses in budget 2023: (a) on what date will the details of this commitment be released; (b) what is the total number of meetings the government has had with Visa and Mastercard related to the measures announced; and (c) does the government intend to introduce lower transaction fees for other payment options, including American Express or Interac?

With regard to the government’s commitment in the Fall Economic Statement 2022 to lower credit card transaction fees for small businesses: (a) when does the government intend to begin negotiations with payment card networks, financial institutions, acquirers, payment processors, and businesses; (b) with whom does the government plan to negotiate; (c) if known, on which dates will the negotiations in (b) occur; and (d) has the government set a deadline after which it will introduce amendments to the Payment Cards Network Act if an agreed upon solution is not arrived at, and, if so, what is the date?

With regard to efforts that focus on education, training and economic opportunities for Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, broken down by fiscal year since 2014-15: (a) how much funding has been dedicated through the (i) First Nations and Inuit Youth Employment Strategy, (ii) Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program, (iii) Women’s Employment Readiness pilot program, (iv) Women Entrepreneurship Strategy; and (b) how much of the funding in (a) has been committed?

With regard to efforts that focus on education, training and economic opportunities for Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, broken down by fiscal year since 2014-15: (a) how much funding has been dedicated through the (i) First Nations and Inuit Youth Employment Strategy, (ii) Indigenous Skills and Employment Training program, (iii) Women’s Employment Readiness Pilot, (iv) Women’s Entrepreneurship Strategy; and (b) how much of the funding in (a) has been committed?

With regard to the government's commitment in budget 2021 on interchange fees for small and medium-sized businesses: (a) what stakeholders did government representatives meet with since April 19, 2021, with the objective of (i) lowering the average overall cost of interchange fees, (ii) ensuring that small businesses benefit from pricing that is similar to large businesses, (iii) protecting existing reward points of customers; and (b) on what dates were the meetings referenced in (a) held?

With regard to the Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund, since its inception: (a) why was the second phase of the program, which included a joint $128-million fund from Canadian financial institutions, dropped from the program’s total loan fund; (b) what efforts did the government make to ensure that financial institutions fulfilled their portion of the initial $291.3 million investment; (c) how many applications submitted (i) received full funding, (ii) received partial funding, (iii) were denied funding; and (d) how many entrepreneurs were expected to receive funding as part of the second phase of the fund?

With regard to government funding for fiscal years 2019-20 to 2021-22 allocated within the constituency of South Okanagan—West Kootenay: what is the total funding amount, broken down by (i) fiscal year, (ii) department or agency, (iii) initiative, (iv) amount?