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

With regard to government contracts with advertising agencies, since January 2020, broken down by department or agency and by year: what are the details of each contract, including (i) the name of the advertising agency, (ii) the contract value, (iii) the start and end dates of the contract, (iv) the description of the advertising campaign or the purpose for which the agency was paid, (v) the media or platforms on which the advertising was placed, (vi) whether the contract was awarded through a competitive or non-competitive process, (vii) the description of the services provided?

With regard to Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation funding programs, since January 1, 2015, broken down by year and funding program: (a) what is the total amount of investments made under Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation funding programs in Abitibi-Témiscamingue; (b) what is the number of projects funded under (a); (c) what are the funded projects under (b) and how many housing units were created by these projects; (d) what are the titles of the projects, the number of housing units created and the funding obtained by organizations in Abitibi-Témiscamingue under the Co-operative Housing Development Program; (e) what are the titles of the projects, the number of housing units created and the funding obtained by organizations in Abitibi-Témiscamingue under the Small/Rural/North/Indigenous Stream of the Housing Accelerator Fund; (f) to date, what is the total amount of investments made in Abitibi-Témiscamingue through the Rural and Northern Communities Infrastructure stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, broken down by project; (g) what is the total amount of investments made under the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund agreements, broken down by province for each year of the program; (h) what are the amounts invested by the Canada Public Transit Fund in Abitibi-Témiscamingue since its creation; (i) what are the amounts invested by the Rural Transit Solutions Fund in Abitibi-Témiscamingue since its creation; and (j) what are the titles of the projects and the funding obtained by organizations in Abitibi-Témiscamingue under the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Program?

With regard to Canada Economic Development, for fiscal years 2022–23 to 2024–25, broken down by administrative region: (a) what is the total investment in each region during those fiscal years; (b) what is the detailed breakdown of the amounts by program; and (c) why are these statistics not publicly available and easily accessible on the regional portals for Quebec’s administrative regions?

With regard to the Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage — Local Festivals program, since January 1, 2022, broken down by year: (a) what is the total amount of investments made in Abitibi-Témiscamingue for each project holder; and (b) what are the reasons explaining why the government reduced funding for various local festivals in Abitibi-Témiscamingue?

With regard to the Place du Portage III Asset and Workplace Renewal Project: (a) what was the forecasted estimated total cost of the project in 2018, broken down by cost type, including internal salaries, professional services (including professional service fees and travel expenses) and internal services; (b) what have been the actual expenses incurred by cost type, including the cost of internal salaries, professional services, (including professional service fees and travel expenses) and internal services; (c) what is the current forecasted cost of the project; and (d) what are the details of all the contracts signed for this project with a value of more than $1 million, including (i) the date, (ii) the supplier, (iii) the value, (iv) a description of the goods or services, (v) the way the contract was awarded (sole-source contract or competitive bidding process)?

With regard to the COVID-19 vaccine mandates for public service employees, contractors and temporary workers, announced in October 2021 and those for federally regulated companies announced in December 2021: (a) did the government classify this policy as a public-health measure under the Public Health Agency of Canada Act, a human-resources requirement under the Financial Administration Act or as an occupational safety preventive measure under Part II of the Canada Labour Code; (b) which ministers, deputy ministers and senior officials approved the final classification of the vaccination policy, and, for each, what was (i) their name, (ii) their title, (iii) the date of the approval; (c) what hazard-identification or residual-risk assessments were performed under Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations sections 10.4 to 10.6 to determine whether existing controls such as hand sanitization, barriers, masking, distancing and disinfection were inadequate before escalation to mandating the COVID-19 vaccine; (d) were Policy and Workplace Health and Safety Committees consulted under Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations section 10.8 and section 125(1)(z.14) of the Code prior to implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and, if so, for each meeting, what are the details, including the (i) date, (ii) list of attendees, (iii) outcome of the meeting, (iv) internal tracking or file number of the minutes; (e) did any federal department submit a notice or obtain approval under Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations section 12.04(1) when introducing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate as a biological preventive measure, and what documentation demonstrates compliance with 12.04(3) that the measure itself “did not create or contribute to a hazard”; (f) did Department of Justice Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, Health Canada or the Treasury Board Secretariat issue any legal opinions or interpretive memos clarifying whether COVID-19 vaccination constituted “personal protective equipment” or was otherwise subject to Part II of the Canada Labour Code, and, if so, for each opinion or memo (i) what was the date, (ii) what was the name of the issuer, (iii) who received the information, (iv) on what date was it tabled in the House of Commons; (g) did Employment and Social Development Canada Occupational Health and Safety Officers revise 2020 findings that the existing hierarchy of control measures under section 122.2 of the Canada Labour Code were adequate, and, if so, for each revision what was the (i) date of the revision, (ii) reason for revision, (iii) evidence to justify the revision; (h) did the Minister of Labour determine that COVID-19 vaccination qualified for introduction at the third stage of the hierarchy, in section 122.2 of the Canada Labour Code requiring hazard elimination or reduction before resorting to personal protective equipment, and, if so, what analysis supported that decision; (i) following the Prime Minister’s 2021 announcement that the COVID-19 vaccine policy aimed to “protect the safety of our workplaces,” did the government classify the COVID-19 vaccine mandate measure as falling within its Part II duties to protect employees at work, and how was that classification conveyed to departments; (j) were employees explicitly informed that the COVID-19 vaccine mandate was implemented to protect workplace health and safety and therefore that their rights under sections 125 to 128, including the right to know, participate and refuse dangerous work, would apply, and, if not, why not; (k) which departments maintain records of federal employee exposures or adverse reactions resulting from the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine mandate policy pursuant to section 125(1)(j), how many reports were made and what is the schedule for retention and reporting; (l) which departments participated in interdepartmental meetings to coordinate the workplace COVID-19 vaccination policy, and which department led the decision to classify it as a public-health or human-resources measure rather than occupational protective equipment; (m) does the government plan to propose amendments to Part II of the Canada Labour Code or to the Canadian Occupational Health and Safety Regulations to clarify the classification of biological or pharmacological interventions in workplace safety programs; (n) did the Minister of Labour consult the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health with respect to sections 122.2 and 124 of the Canada Labour Code regarding compliance before introducing medical or biological measures as occupational controls; (o) did the Minister of Health, Health Canada or the Public Health Agency of Canada have knowledge that biochemical components of the COVID-19 vaccines were registered chemicals, and, if so, on what date did they inform all federal employees of these chemicals under section 125.1 of the Canada Labour Code; and (p) was the mandatory vaccination policy for federal workers classified as a workplace safety measure under Part 2 of the Canada Labour Code, and, if so, on what dates were employees informed to document and report all adverse events, related to vaccination to the provincial worker's compensation boards for review?

With regard to the National Capital Commission planting and caring for the tulips displayed in the Canadian Tulip Festival and elsewhere around Ottawa and Gatineau: (a) how many tulip bulbs have been planted each year since 2019; (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by location; (c) how are the tulips removed from their display locations once their blooming stage ends; (d) what is done with the (i) tulips, (ii) tulip bulbs, once they are removed from their display locations; and (e) how many of the tulip bulbs are reused from previous years and how many new bulbs are planted?

With regard to Weatheradio Canada and Hello Weather, operated by Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the federal decision to discontinue both services effective March 16, 2026: (a) what were the total federal costs to operate Weatheradio Canada for each of the last five fiscal years, broken down by operations, maintenance and capital expenditures; (b) what was the annual cost to operate the Hello Weather telephone service for each of the same five fiscal years; (c) what is the total approved federal budget to decommission Weatheradio Canada and Hello Weather, broken down by fiscal year; (d) what are the details of all contracts issued for decommissioning work, including, for each vendor, the (i) dollar amount, (ii) procurement method, (iii) description of the goods or services provided; (e) what are the projected annual savings the federal government expects following the discontinuation of these services; (f) what analyses, briefings or cost comparison documents did Environment and Climate Change Canada rely on to justify the discontinuation, and on what dates were these documents completed; (g) what federal expenditures have been allocated in each of the last five fiscal years to the WeatherCAN app, Canada.ca weather systems, and Alert Ready as alternatives to Weatheradio; (h) what were the annual system uptime and outage statistics for Weatheradio and for each alternative service; (i) which internal federal stakeholders, including, but not limited to, Environment and Climate Change Canada branches, Public Safety Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and the Meteorological Service of Canada, were consulted prior to the decision to discontinue Weatheradio Canada and Hello Weather; (j) which external stakeholders were consulted, including emergency management agencies, provincial or territorial governments, municipalities, first responders, Indigenous communities, broadcasters and disability advocacy organizations; (k) on what dates did these consultations occur and what formats were used (meetings, written communications, technical briefings); (l) what concerns, recommendations or objections were raised by consulted stakeholders and how were they incorporated into the final decision; (m) which stakeholder groups requested that the services not be discontinued and what rationale did they provide; (n) were any stakeholders identified by Environment and Climate Change Canada or the Meteorological Service of Canada as relevant to the decision not consulted, and, if so, which stakeholders were not consulted and what was the reason they were not consulted; (o) were any members of Parliament or their offices consulted regarding the discontinuation, and, if so, what are the details of the consultations, including the (i) dates, (ii) formats, (iii) names of the members or offices consulted; and (p) for any information in (a) through (o) that is not tracked or not available, what are the details, including (i) the specific information that wasn't tracked, (ii) the reason it wasn't tracked, (iii) whether Environment and Climate Change Canada intends to begin tracking it, and, if so, in which fiscal year?

With regard to governance and human resources oversight at Farm Credit Canada since January 1, 2023: (a) what is the current organizational structure for human resources oversight, including whether the Chief Executive Officer has held concurrent responsibility for human resources functions; (b) what policies are in place to manage conflicts of interest when complaints concern senior executives; (c) how are complaints regarding the Chief Executive Officer or other senior executives received, assessed and investigated; (d) how many complaints, grievances, ethics reports or disclosures have been submitted since January 1, 2023, broken down by (i) type of complaint, (ii) whether the subject was a senior executive, (iii) whether an investigation was initiated, (iv) the outcome of the investigation, if any; (e) how many disclosures have been made under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, since January 1, 2023, and how many involved senior leadership; (f) how many employees, past or present, have been asked to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements since 2018, broken down by year and by reason for the need of a Non-Disclosure Agreement; (g) do any of the Non-Disclosure Agreements prevent past or present employees from filing complaints with the Canadian Human Rights Commission; (h) what measures are in place to ensure employees are protected from reprisal when submitting anonymous surveys, ethics complaints or disclosures; (i) what policies govern the protection of employee medical information and client information during internal meetings; and (j) has any external review, audit or independent assessment been conducted regarding workplace culture, ethics compliance or executive conduct, and, if so, what were the findings?

With regard to Farm Credit Canada since January 1, 2023: (a) what is the breakdown of executive and director-level employees by (i) province of primary residence, (ii) designated work location, (iii) those whose position is based at the corporate headquarters in Regina; (b) how many executive or director-level employees reside outside of the province of Saskatchewan; (c) outside of official work trips, how many executive or director-level employees have worked remotely from a location outside of Canada, if any, and what is the breakdown by location; (d) what policies govern executive remote work arrangements and physical presence at headquarters; (e) what is the total amount spent annually on executive travel, broken down for each traveler by fiscal year and type of expenditure; and (f) what was the total amount spent on consultants, broken down by (i) fiscal year, (ii) competitive versus non-competitive contracts, (iii) contracts related to sustainability initiatives, (iv) contracts with people who were previously personnel or who have had a business relationship with the Chief Executive Officer or any other senior executive, (v) contracts with businesses who are owned or operated by individuals who were previous personnel or who have had a business relationship with the Chief Executive Officer or any other senior executive?

With regard to firearms possessed or used by the Canadian Coast Guard: (a) how many firearms are in inventory, or otherwise in the possession of, the Canadian Coast Guard; (b) what types of firearms are in the Coast Guard's inventory; (c) how many of each type of firearm are in the inventory; (d) which Canadian Coast Guard vessels are equipped with mounted or onboard firearms, including the name of each vessel and the type of firearm; (e) which vessels in the Canadian Coast Guard fleet are not equipped with any firearms; and (f) which departments or agencies are authorized to carry or operate firearms while aboard Canadian Coast Guard vessels?

With regard to the $759,179 in costs attributed to the honorary consulate in Suva, Fiji, by Global Affairs Canada in the period from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2025: (a) what was the address of the consulate during this period; (b) who was the beneficial owner of the property; (c) what are the reasons for the payments; (d) what is the breakdown of the costs by purpose, function or category; (e) what is the departmental policy on payments for upgrades, refits or renovations to the honorary consul's property; (f) what, if any, audit was conducted on the expenditure of funds; and (g) who in Global Affairs Canada approved the expenditure?

With regard to the acquisition of body armour by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police since January 1, 2023: (a) how many sets of body armour have been purchased, broken down by year; (b) what was the cost of each set purchased and the total annual cost of all such purchases; (c) what is the total amount spent by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on body armour during this period; (d) where have the purchased sets of body armour been distributed across the country, including a breakdown by division, detachment or region; (e) has the Royal Canadian Mounted Police implemented the recommendation at paragraph 5.36 from Report 5: Equipping Officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, in the Reports of the Auditor General of Canada from 2019, which states that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police should ensure it has the necessary information at the national level to determine whether detachments across the country have enough hard body armour for it to meet its obligations under the Canada Labour Code, and, if so, what measures or systems have been implemented to meet this recommendation; and (f) does the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have the necessary information at the national level to determine whether they have the hard body armour to meet their obligations under the Canada Labour Code?

With regard to the Canada Border Services Agency's disclosure of import and export Vehicle Identification Number data to Carfax and the Équité Association: (a) what criteria were used to grant these two organizations access to this information; and (b) will the Canada Border Services Agency disclose this information in the same form to other entities that would benefit from the information, such as car dealerships, and, if not, why not?

With regard to requests received by the government for the remission of tariffs that apply on certain goods from the United States, since March 2025: (a) how many Canadian businesses applied for tariff remissions; (b) of the applications in (a), how many were (i) accepted, (ii) denied, (iii) received, but are still awaiting a decision; (c) what was the total value of remissions (i) requested, (ii) paid out; (d) of the applications still awaiting a decision, what is the total dollar value requested; and (e) what is the breakdown of (a) through (d) by industry or type of company, if known?

With regard to the Interim Federal Health Program: (a) what are the projected gross savings of the Interim Federal Health Program co-payment model for 2026–27 and 2027–28, broken down by benefit category (prescription, dental, vision, counselling, devices, etc.); (b) what are the projected administrative costs (including information technology services, system changes, provider communications, call centres, dispute resolution, payment reconciliation and auditing services) of the program for 2026–27 and 2027–28, broken down by fiscal year, and what are the projected net savings after administrative costs; (c) what share of net savings is expected to come from beneficiary payments versus reduced utilization or foregone services; (d) what assumptions has the government made to produce the savings estimate in (c), including the assumed percentage change in prescription fills (by drug class, dental claims, vision claims, counselling claims, assistive device claims and collection failure or non-payment rates), and what evidence did the government rely on for each assumption; (e) what is the projected distribution of co-payment amounts paid per beneficiary ($0, $1–10, $11–25, $26–50, $51–100, $101+, per month), broken down by beneficiary class and province or territory; (f) what are the details of the monthly claims data for the 24 months preceding May 1, 2026, broken down by province or territory and beneficiary class, including the (i) number and value of claims, broken down by benefit category, (ii) number of prescriptions adjudicated and paid, broken down by drug class, (iii) provider participation counts, broken down by provider type (pharmacy, dentist, counsellor, etc.), (iv) denial or rejection rates, broken down by reason; (g) what analysis, including any sensitivity analyses, has Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada conducted to estimate the incremental costs to provincial and territorial systems arising from Interim Federal Health Program co-payments, and what are the details, including the (i) additional costs associated with emergency department visits, hospitalizations, ambulance use and complications from delayed dental and mental health care, (ii) additional costs associated with medications and services used for prevention and treatment of communicable diseases (including tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections), (iii) downstream public health costs (including transmission and outbreak response); (h) how did the government come up with the analyses in (g), and what are the details, including (i) the chosen methodology, (ii) the chosen parameters, (iii) the results, (iv) whether co-payments apply; (i) do co-payments, effective May 1, 2026, apply to resettled refugees, including government-assisted refugees and privately sponsored refugees, and, if so, (i) what is the projected number of Interim Federal Health Program beneficiaries affected in 2026–27, broken down by immigration category and province or territory, (ii) what Charter or compliance analyses were conducted, if any, (iii) what are the estimated costs associated with implementation and potential rollback; (j) for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 fiscal years, what share of projected beneficiary co-payments is expected to be paid by the top 10% of payers, broken down by beneficiary class and province or territory; (k) for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 fiscal years, how many beneficiaries are projected to require (i) three or more, (ii) five or more, (iii) 10 or more, prescriptions per month, broken down by age group and beneficiary class; (l) what is Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s projected provider attrition rate attributable to co-payment collection requirements, broken down by provider type and province or territory; (m) what guidance is issued when a beneficiary cannot pay at point of service, including whether care may proceed and any escalation procedures; (n) what mechanisms exist to record “service refused due to inability to pay,” and what reporting will be required; (o) how is the government coordinating with provincial and territorial plans for government-assisted refugees and privately sponsored refugees, and what are the details, including the (i) average, (ii) distribution, of time from arrival to eligibility for provincial health coverage and drug plans, broken down by province or territory; (p) how many Interim Federal Health Program beneficiaries are projected to be eligible for the Canada Dental Care Plan during 2026–27, and what measures exist to prevent duplication of coverage or coverage gaps; (q) what modelling exists on cost shifting between the Interim Federal Health Program, provincial pharmacare and youth drug programs; (r) what are the projected reductions in Interim Federal Health Program costs under scenarios where Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada processing times are reduced by 25%, 50%, 75%, (or to specified service standards), and what is (i) the projected cost of additional Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada capacity required for each of the above scenarios, (ii) the net fiscal impact of backlog reduction scenarios versus co-payment savings; (s) what indicators will Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada track (or model) regarding changes in workforce participation attributable to reduced access to medication, vision care, assistive devices, and mental health services; (t) did Employment and Social Development Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, or Finance Canada do intergovernmental analysis on the impacts in (s), and, if so, what were the findings; and (u) what modelling exists on increased disability-related costs arising from foregone supplemental care?

With regard to the income verification tool to combat mortgage fraud referenced in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement, and the statement that the Canada Revenue Agency would aim "to begin implementation of this measure in early 2025": (a) does the government remain committed to combatting mortgage fraud through a tool to verify borrower income; (b) what is the current status of the policy commitment, and how does the government intend to move forward on this policy, including key milestones for next steps and delivery; and (c) what is the Canada Revenue Agency's timeline for the implementation of this promised tool?

With regard to the document circulated by Global Affairs Canada titled "Update on the situation in the Middle East - March 8, 2026", which indicated that the number of Canadians registered in its voluntary Registration of Canadians Abroad system was 6,078 located in Israel and 460 located in Palestine: what specific geographic borders did Global Affairs Canada use to differentiate which Canadians were considered to be located in Israel and which were considered to be located in Palestine?

With regard to all federal funding provided to MySafe Society since January 2020: (a) what are the details of each contribution, grant and contract, including the (i) department or agency providing the funding, (ii) total value, (iii) start and end dates, (iv) purpose of the funding; (b) for each expenditure in (a), did the agreement require MySafe Society to report to the government on (i) participant health outcomes, (ii) overdose events, (iii) diversion of dispensed substances to unregistered individuals; (c) what reporting, if any, was received by the government under the requirements in (b); (d) was any audit or evaluation of the agreements in (a) conducted, and, if so, what were the findings; (e) what are the details of any federal funding specifically used for the acquisition, installation or operation of drug-dispensing machines, including the (i) number of machines funded, (ii) locations where machines were installed, (iii) total federal contribution toward the machines; and (f) at the time each funding agreement was signed, was the federal government aware that MySafe Society would be using federal funds to dispense opioids through machines, and, if so, (i) which department or official approved the funding with that knowledge, (ii) what controlled substances were known to be dispensed, (iii) what safeguards, if any, were required as a condition of funding?