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

With regard to the backlog in processing asylum claims: (a) how many claims are currently waiting to be processed; (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by the claimant’s country of origin; (c) what is the breakdown of (a) by how long it has been since the asylum claim was first made (less than a year, one to three years, over three years, etc.); and (d) what are the government’s goals, including a detailed timeline of when the backlog will be (i) reduced, (ii) eliminated?

With regard to the issuing of passports: (a) how many passports were mailed to the wrong address, broken down by month since January 1, 2022; (b) how many reports of individuals receiving (i) a passport with errors, (ii) another individual's passport, has the government received; and (c) what is the protocol when an individual receives another individual's passport in error, including whether or not the Privacy Commissioner is notified?

With regard to the labour shortage problem and delays in obtaining work permits for foreign workers: (a) how many foreign workers are waiting for a response (i) in Canada, (ii) for the province of Quebec, (iii) in the riding of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier; (b) what time frame does the government deem acceptable for ensuring that a work permit is obtained for a foreign worker; (c) what is the current time frame for work permits for foreign workers in each province; (d) has the government found solutions to its major breakdown with Service Canada that is causing significant delays in the delivery of work permits for foreign workers and, if so, what are they; (e) what is the cause of Service Canada’s computer glitches with foreign worker files; and (f) does the government have any analysis of changes in the labour shortage and, if so, what is the government’s estimate of the labour shortage over the next 10 years?

With regard to the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) and the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program: (a) how many businesses and organizations qualified for CECRA but were not eligible for CERS due to restrictions on groups under the CERS program; (b) why did the government decide to exclude businesses receiving CECRA from the CERS program; (c) did the government take into account whether or not organizations are considered completely separate for tax purposes when determining eligibility, and, if not, why not; (d) was this decision intentional, or to what extent did the government forget it or make a mistake, and, if so, will the government change the qualification criteria; and (e) is there an appeal mechanism or recourse for businesses or organizations that were denied CERS, and, if so, what are the details?

With regard to the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) by the government from firms based in the province of Quebec, since January 1, 2020: (a) what are the details of all contracts awarded to Quebec-based firms to provide PPE, including the (i) vendor, (ii) location, including federal riding, (iii) description of goods, including the volume, (iv) amount, (v) date the contract was signed, (vi) delivery date for goods, (vii) whether the contract was sole-sourced; and (b) what are the details of all applications or proposals received by the government from companies based in Quebec to provide PPE, but that were not accepted or entered into by the government, including the (i) vendor, (ii) location of vendor, including federal riding, (iii) summary of the proposal, (iv) reason why the proposal was not accepted?