Questions and responses 44th Parliament, 1st session November 22, 2021, to January 6, 2025

Regarding Health Canada’s (HC) review of the COVID-19 modRNA vaccine products: (a) did HC consider the specific nature of the nanotechnology of the lipid particles used for the modRNA vaccine delivery; (b) if affirmative to (a), what was their assessment; (c) why was the fact that modRNA vaccines contain nanotechnology omitted from the product monograph-label; (d) did HC assess the toxicity of pegylated nanoparticles, specifically the risk for complement activated related pseudoallergy (CARPA) with the lipid nanoparticles used in the mRNA vaccines; (e) if affirmative to (d), why was this not included in the product labelling; (f) if negative to (d) why wasn’t this assessed; (g) did HC assess the risk of toxicity due to the nanoformat of these vaccines; (h) if affirmative to (g), what was the assessment result; (i) if negative to (g), why not; (j) did HC assess the lipid nanoparticles as a novel excipient; (k) if affirmative to (j), what was the assessment; (l) if negative to (j), why not; (m) with respect to nanotechnology products and their unique properties and behaviors particularly in their application to the modRNA vaccines, did HC examine the (i) safety, (ii) effectiveness, (iii) risk to the environment and (iv) its specific regulatory status; (n) if affirmative to (m), (i) through to (iv), what were the assessment results; (o) if negative to (m), (i) through to (iv), why not; (p) how do established safe levels of DNA apply, (i) when using pegylated LNPs as a delivery system, (ii) when a product that contains pegylated LNPs requires repeated dosing; and (q) what assessment was performed to assess the risk of residual DNA when using pegylated LNPs as a delivery system in a vaccine which requires repeated dosing?

With regard to the Black Class Action Lawsuit (Nicholas Marcus Thompson et al. v. His Majesty the King (T‑1458‑20)), broken down by department: (a) what is the total amount spent to date by the government on this lawsuit; and (b) what is the total amount paid to Fasken, the law firm representing the Crown in this case?

With regard to veterinary pharmaceuticals and the fees for related applications to, and approvals by, Health Canada: (a) what was the amount collected in fees in the last fiscal year, in total and broken down by specific type of fee or component; (b) what is the itemized breakdown of how Health Canada spent the money collected from each of the fees in (a); and (c) on which of the fees in (a) did the government collect more money than it spent in costs related to processing the related applications, and, for each such fee, how much was (i) collected from the applicants, (ii) spent on processing?

With regard to government programs focused on research, broken down by department, agency, or Crown corporation: (a) what are the names of all such programs; and (b) for each program in (a), (i) how much funding is allocated for the current fiscal year, (ii) how much funding is projected to be allocated in subsequent fiscal years, as far as current projections allow, (iii) what is the program’s purpose and objective, (iv) is it guided by a diversity, equity, and inclusion mandate?

With regard to the sale of federal properties since March 1, 2023: (a) what are the details of each property sold, including the (i) province or territory, (ii) city, (iii) street address, (iv) type of listing (residential, office, etc.), (v) description of the property, (vi) sale price, if different than the asking price, (vii) buyer, (viii) future use of the property, if known, (ix) date of the sale; (b) for each sale in (a), what were the costs incurred by the government related to the sale, broken down by type of expense; and (c) for each sale in (a), how did the government reinvest the net profits?

With regard to the government's economic policy: what specific actions, if any, does the government have planned to increase the value of the Canadian dollar?

With regard to homes constructed under the Housing Accelerator Fund, since the program's introduction in March 2023: what are the details of each finished home completed by the fund, including, for each, the (i) address, (ii) date construction began, (iii) date construction was completed, (iv) description of the home (3-bedroom house, studio apartment, etc.)?

With regard to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) transferring refugees to Niagara Falls, Ontario, between January 1 and December 1, 2024: (a) how many have been transferred to Niagara Falls in total; (b) what is the monthly breakdown of the number of refugees transferred to Niagara Falls; (c) which hotels is the government using to lodge refugees in Niagara Falls; (d) how many hotel rooms are currently being occupied by refugees in Niagara Falls; (e) what is the capacity of each hotel room that is being occupied by refugees in Niagara Falls; (f) how many refugees are staying in each hotel room in Niagara Falls; (g) what is the average length of time IRCC expects (i) an individual refugee, (ii) a refugee family, to be lodged in a Niagara Falls hotel room; (h) for all refugees being lodged in government-funded Niagara Falls hotel rooms, without identifying names or other personal information, how many days has each refugee stayed; (i) what is the average cost per night that IRCC pays per refugee staying in a Niagara Falls hotel room; (j) for the night of December 1, 2024, what was the total cost IRCC paid hoteliers to house refugees located in Niagara Falls; (k) what is the average cost that IRCC pays per refugee who lives in a Niagara Falls hotel room for daily meals and refreshments; (I) for the month of November 2024, what was the total cost IRCC paid hoteliers to feed refugees located in Niagara Falls; (m) what are the countries of origin for refugees who have been accommodated in Niagara Falls; (n) what is the breakdown of refugees transferred to or accommodated in Niagara Falls by each country of origin; (o) how much funding was transferred by the federal government to the municipality of Niagara Falls to deal with the influx of refugees in the city; (p) how much funding has been transferred by the federal government to the Region of Niagara to deal with the influx of refugees in the region; (q) how much funding was transferred by the federal government to local not-for-profit, charitable, and non­governmental organizations in Niagara Falls to deal with the influx of refugees in the city; (r) what are the names of the specific not-for-profit, charitable, and non-governmental organizations who have received federal government funding; (s) what is the breakdown of funding for each organization to date; (t) how many more refugees does IRCC currently plan to transfer to or accommodate in Niagara Falls; (u) how many refugees have moved out of government-funded hotel rooms in Niagara Falls and into personal accommodations; (v) when does the federal government plan to stop paying for refugee hotel rooms in Niagara Falls; and (w) what are the terms and conditions of the financial agreement that IRCC has with each hotelier located in Niagara Falls that houses refugees and receives federal monies to provide this service?

With regard to the Canada Border Services Agency's removal inventories: (a) how many cases are currently in each of the following inventories, broken down by inventory type, including (i) monitoring inventory, (ii) stay inventory, (iii) wanted inventory, (iv) working inventory; (b) broken down by each inventory type, how many cases were (i) added, (ii) resolved or removed, during the last calendar year; (c) what is the average time a case remains in inventory, broken down by type of inventory; (d) how many cases in (a) involve individuals with enforceable removal orders, broken down by (i) inventory type (ii) country of origin; and (e) what measures are currently in place to address any impediments to timely removals for cases in each inventory?

With regard to the nine Veterans Affairs Canada centres that were closed in 2014: (a) how many jobs were lost at each centre; and (b) how many veterans did they serve per year before being closed down?

With regard to government expenditures related to the Prime Minister's trip to New York in September 2024, to attend the United Nations General Assembly: (a) what are the expenditures incurred to date, in total and broken down by type of expense; (b) how many members were part of the Canadian delegation; (c) what are the names and titles of the delegation members; (d) to date, what was the total amount spent on hotels in the New York City area during that visit; and (e) what are the details of the spending at each hotel, including the (i) total amount spent, (ii) name of the hotel, (iii) number of rooms rented each night, (iv) rate paid and the number of rooms at each rate?

With regard to Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and the management consulting contract worth $18,583.74 (Procurement Identification Number 7459892), paid to Rock Paper Scissors Inc. for services at the 2024 Music Tectonics Conference in Los Angeles, California: (a) what specific management consulting work or reports were completed for GAC as a result of the contract; and (b) what are the details of any other contracts or expenditures that GAC incurred related to the 2024 conference including, for each, the (i) amount, (ii) vendor, (iii) description of the goods or services?

With regard to the government’s Indigenous Business Directory, since January 1, 2016, and broken down by year: (a) how many businesses were removed from the directory; (b) how many of the businesses in (a) were removed due to (i) bankruptcy or otherwise ceasing operations, (ii) non-compliance with the requirement that 51% of the business be owned and controlled by Indigenous peoples, (iii) another reason, broken down by reason; (c) for each business that was removed from the directory, what are the details, including, the (i) name, (ii) location, (iii) date, (iv) reason for its removal; (d) have any of the businesses in (c) since been re-added to the directory, and, if so, what are the details of each instance, including the name of the businesses and the date they were re-added; (e) when a company is removed from the directory, are its ongoing contracts with the government, which were awarded due to its status in the directory, cancelled, and, if so, what are the details of any such contracts, including, for each, the (i) name of the company, (ii) contract value prior to its cancellation, (iii) date of the contract, (iv) date of the cancellation, (v) date on which the company was removed from the directory, (vi) final contract value following its cancellation, (vii) amount recovered by the government following the cancellation; and (f) for each instance where a business was removed due to non-compliance with the 51% requirement, how did the government become aware of the non-compliance (whistleblower, compliance audit, general research, etc.)?

With regard to government statistics on violence against women, broken down by year since 2015: (a) how many criminal acts of violence against women were reported, in total and broken down by province or territory, and by major metropolitan area; (b) of the acts of violence in (a), how many were homicides or deadly assaults; (c) how many individuals were charged in relation to the crimes in (a); (d) how many individuals were charged in relation to the crimes in (b); and (e) what is the breakdown of (c) and (d) if the number of individuals charged were (i) already wanted for other crimes, (ii) out on bail, (iii) on parole at the time of being charged?

With regard to complaints reported by air carriers to Transport Canada, broken down by year, from 2016 to 2024: (a) how many complaints were reported by Air Canada, WestJet, Porter Airlines, Sunwing Airlines and Air Transat, broken down by each type of complaint category, including (i) tarmac delays, (ii) denied boarding (bumping), (iii) issues with seating of children, (iv) lost baggage, (v) delayed baggage, (vi) damaged baggage; (b) what was the monthly total number of complaints for each category listed in (a); and (c) of the complaints listed in (a), how many were resolved by the air carriers, broken down by air carrier (i) Air Canada, (ii) WestJet, (iii) Porter Airlines, (iv) Sunwing Airlines, (v) Air Transat?

With regard to Canada Pension Plan (CPP) payments: (a) has the government conducted any analysis into (i) how much it would cost to allow individuals who continue to pay into and don’t start collecting CPP payments until an age later than 65, such as 70, to defer those payments and receive larger payment when they do start collecting CPP payments, (ii) any proposal similar to that outlined in (a)(i); and (b) if the answer to (a)(i) or (a)(ii) is affirmative, what are the details, including the findings and projections associated with the analysis?

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 the performance indicators in Prairies Economic Development Canada’s 2024-25 departmental plan: (a) how much fuel does the government project will be consumed by exports of $360 million reaching foreign markets from the prairie provinces between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025; and (b) what does the government project to be the dollar value collected on the fuel in (a) under the price on pollution in provinces subject to the federal backstop?

With regard to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC): (a) how many transmission towers does the CBC own or operate; (b) what are the details of each tower owned or operated by the CBC, including (i) its location, (ii) the tower type, (iii) whether the tower is owned, (iv) whether the tower is operated but not owned, including the name of the entity that owns the tower, (v) what the tower is used for, (vi) whether the tower is in service, (vii) the tower height, (viii) whether any other entity operates on the tower, and, if so, the name of the entity, (ix) the number of households the tower services, (x) the date the tower was installed; (c) how many spectrum licenses does the the CBC hold; (d) what are the details of each spectrum license in (c), including, (i) the frequency, (ii) the band, (iii) the year the license was originally obtained, (iv) the cost to obtain the license, (v) how the license was obtained (i.e. auction, etc.), (vi) the length of the license, (vii) the service tier the license was issued for, (viii) the number of households the license services, (ix) the date the license expires or is up for renewal, (x) the type of service the license supports (i.e. television, radio, etc.); (e) how much fibre optic cable does the CBC own; (f) what are the details of the fibre cable in (e), including (i) its location, (ii) what the fibre optic cable is used for, (iii) the source of backhaul the fibre optic cable is connected to, including the name of the supplier, (iv) the date the fibre optic cable was obtained or installed, (v) whether any other entity operates on, or leases, the fibre optic cable, and, if so, the name of the entity; and (g) what is the total asset value of the (i) towers, (ii) spectrum licenses, (iii) fibre optic cables, currently owned by the CBC?

With regard to Public Safety Canada's Firearms Program branch: (a) how many separate programs or projects is the branch currently working on; (b) how many employees or full-time equivalents are assigned to each of these programs or projects; (c) what are the Treasury Board classification and associated pay-scale range for each of the employees in (b); and (d) what are the allocated budgets for each of these programs or projects?