Questions and responses 42nd Parliament, 1st session December 3, 2015, to September 11, 2019

With regard to Budget 2016: according to the most recent data available, what has been the economic and employment impact of the fiscal measures outlined on pp. 256-258, both in total and broken down by specific measure?

With regard to the section of Budget 2016 entitled “Expanding Affordable Housing”: (a) what is the complete and detailed list of all commitments made in the budget to invest in affordable housing, including the financial cost per fiscal year and department or agency responsible; (b) for each commitment in (a), what amount has already been invested or spent to date, broken down by the province or territory in which it was invested; (c) for each amount in (b), how many new units of affordable housing, if any, have been constructed as a result, broken down by the province or territory in which they were built; and (d) for each amount in (b), how many Canadians have benefited from these investments, broken down by province or territory?

With regard to the Department of Finance's analysis of the economic impact of Budget 2016: (a) what econometric model and data sources were used to generate the job and GDP estimates; (b) what is the basis for the multipliers used; (c) was consideration given to the effect of higher levels of consumer debt; (d) does the economic model in Budget 2016 account for the regional breakdown of planned government spending and differences in the output gap across regions; (e) does the economic model in Budget 2016 account for the effects of currency appreciation; (f) what is the assumed lag time before infrastructure, housing, and program spending affects the real economy; (g) was the economic model in Budget 2016 reviewed by economists outside the Department; (h) if the answer to (g) is in the affirmative, why; and (i) if the answer to (g) is in the negative, why not?

With regard to the changes to Old Age Security (OAS) announced in Budget 2016: what are the details of any research conducted into the (i) impact on government revenues, (ii) impact on the costs and sustainability of the OAS program, (iii) anticipated costs of reversing these changes?

With regard to the government’s projection presented on page 235 of Budget 2016 showing a 21% increase in Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues from 2015-2016 to 2020-2021: (a) upon what basis is the government’s projection based; and (b) how much of this forecasted increase will result from an increase in the GST rate?

With regard to the information in Chapter 2, on page 89 of the March 22, 2016, Budget, and as of that date: (a) what is the total amount for the remaining uncommitted funds from older federal infrastructure programs; and (b) for the information in (a), what are the amounts broken down by province, municipality, and by other recipient, of the remaining uncommitted funds as of this date that have, or have not, or will be transferred, from older federal infrastructure programs through the Gas Tax Fund in 2016-2017, as promised in the March 22, 2016, Budget?

With regard to the 2016-2017 budget document tabled before the House of Commons on March 22, 2016 by the Minister of Finance titled “Growing the Middle Class”: what are the yearly income data points that were used to create Chart 1 in that document?

With regard to projections calculated by the Department of Finance on the costs of servicing government debt over the next 50 years, has the Department calculated the costs associated with servicing the deficit projected in Budget 2016, and, if so, (i) how were these calculations made, (ii) what interest rates were used for the purposes of these calculations?

With regard to the government's planned advertising campaign for Budget 2016, for every instance of an advertisement: (a) what is the medium of the ad; (b) where did or will the ad appear, including but not limited to, location, television station, radio station, publication; (c) what is the duration or size of the ad; (d) when was the ad displayed or when will it be displayed; and (e) what is the cost of the ad?

With regard to the submission from the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) to the Standing Committee on Finance which recommends exempting group medical structures and health care delivery from Budget 2016’s proposed changes: (a) has the Department of Finance done a cost analysis on this recommendation, and if so, what were the results; (b) does the government plan on implementing the CMA recommendation; and (c) what is the rationale for the decision in (b)?

With regards to Budget 2016 Growing the Middle Class and the median wage income: (a) what are the details of all documents, including spreadsheets, used to create Chart 1 Real median wage income of Canadians, 1975-2015, in the Budget, broken down by (i) median wage income of women, (ii) median wage income of men, (iii) median wage income; (b) is the data regarding the median wage income of Canadians available for the most recent years after 2015 and, if so, which years; and (c) if the answer to (b) is affirmative, what are the details of all documents, including spreadsheets, regarding the median wage income of Canadians for each of the most recent years available after 2015, broken down annually by (i) median wage income of women, (ii) median wage income of men, (iii) median wage income?

With regard to Budget 2016: what is the total number of hours paid by the government to employees and contractors for preparing the budget, and what is the cost associated with those hours of work?

With regard to the $3.3 million investment, announced in Budget 2016, to fund an in-depth assessment of VIA Rail’s high-frequency rail proposal and other Transport Canada studies and assessments: (a) how much of the $3.3 million has been invested to date, broken down by (i) feasibility study, (ii) contractor; (b) has the in-depth assessment been finalized and, if so, will a full version of the assessment and its conclusions be available on Transport Canada’s website; (c) if the answer to (b) is negative, what is the time frame for finalizing the assessment and posting the full version and conclusions on Transport Canada’s website; (d) how many employees are assigned to the assessment; (e) has VIA Rail provided the federal government with studies on the high-frequency rail proposal; (f) if the answer to (e) is affirmative, will Transport Canada post the full versions and conclusions of these studies on Transport Canada’s website; (g) on what date did Transport Canada begin receiving studies from VIA Rail; (h) what have been Transport Canada’s responses to the VIA Rail studies; (i) was CPCS Transcom Limited hired in this assessment process; (j) if the answer to (i) is affirmative, will a full version and the conclusions of the study by CPCS Transcom Limited be posted on Transport Canada’s website; (k) how much of the $3.3 million funded the assessment conducted by CPCS Transcom Limited; (l) what are Transport Canada’s responses to CPCS Transcom Limited’s conclusions; (m) on what date did Transport Canada begin receiving conclusions from the assessment conducted by CPCS Transcom Limited; and (n) how many other studies and assessments have been conducted to date in this area by Transport Canada and, where applicable, (i) what are the conclusions of each of these studies, (ii) will the full versions and conclusions of these studies be posted on Transport Canada’s website, (iii) what was the cost of each of these studies, (iv) what are Transport Canada’s responses to each of these studies, (v) on what dates did Transport Canada read these studies?

With regard to funding for the implementation and administration of various measures to crack down on tax evasion, combat tax avoidance and enhance tax collections in Budget 2016 for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and referenced in Supplementary Estimates (B) 2016-17: (a) how many full time equivalents (FTEs) were created from this additional funding; (b) what percentage of all FTEs within CRA are dedicated to tax evasion and what was the percentage before the additional funding for tax evasion; (c) of these FTEs, how many employees are targeted toward offshore tax cheats; (d) of the new hires at CRA responsible for going after tax evasion, what is the breakdown by area of focus; and (e) how many new FTEs have been dedicated to address the back-log of low-complexity, medium complexity and high complexity assessment objections?

With regard to improving primary and secondary education for First Nations Children, as indicated in the 2016 Budget: (a) what targets and criteria has the government identified as components of improving primary and secondary education for First Nations children; (b) for each target or criterion in (a), what consultations were undertaken to identify these as components leading to improvement for primary and secondary education of First Nations children; (c) for each consultation in (b), (i) what was the date, (ii) what was the location, (iii) what organizations and individuals were consulted, (iv) what briefings or submissions were included as part of the consultation process; (d) what are the components of the anticipated program growth costs associated with the government’s investment in the current on-reserve primary and secondary education system from $226.3 million in 2016-2017 to $465.5 million in 2020-2021; (e) for each component in (d), what are the details of the program growth costs, broken down by (i) the department or agency providing the funding, (ii) the program to which the funding will be provided, (iii) the nature or purpose of the program, (iv) the amount of funds the program is anticipated to receive for each fiscal year from 2016-2017 to 2020-2021, inclusively; (f) what are the components of the anticipated program growth costs associated with the government’s investment in the supporting system transformation to improve education outcomes from $60.1 million in 2016-2017 to $332.5 million in 2020-2021; (g) for each component in (f), what are the details of the program growth costs broken down by (i) the department or agency providing the funding, (ii) the program to which the funding will be provided, (iii) the nature or purpose of the program, (iv) the amount of funds the program is anticipated to receive for each fiscal year from 2016-2017 to 2020-2021, inclusively; (h) what are the components of the anticipated program growth costs associated with the government’s investment in fostering better learning environments in First Nations schools from $96.6 million in 2016-2017 to $208.8 million in 2020-2021; (i) for each component in (h), what are the details of the program growth costs, broken down by, (i) the department or agency providing the funding, (ii) the program to which the funding will be provided, (iii) the nature or purpose of the program, (iv) the amount of funds the program is anticipated to receive for each fiscal year from 2016-2017 to 2020-2021, inclusively?

With regard to Budget 2016: (a) what portion of the budgeted increase to the investment in Affordable Housing Initiative will be delivered to British Columbia in 2016-17, and in 2017-18; (b) what portion of the budgeted outlays for affordable housing for seniors will be allocated to British Columbia in 2016-17, and in 2017-18; (c) what portion of the $573.9 million budgeted for energy and water efficiency retrofits and renovations to social housing will be delivered to British Columbia in 2016-17, and in 2017-18; (d) how many rental units in British Columbia will be supported through this additional investment; (e) how many social housing providers in British Columbia are eligible to receive the additional investment to support rent subsidies identified in Budget 2016; (f) how many providers in British Columbia will receive a portion of the funds identified in (e); (g) what is the total number of rent-subsidized housing units in British Columbia that will be affected by the investment identified in (e); (h) what portion of the additional $208.3 million budgeted for the Affordable Rental Housing Innovation Fund will be used to encourage construction of affordable rental housing in British Columbia; (i) what portion of the additional $89.9 million budgeted for the construction and renovation of shelters and transition houses for victims of family violence will be used for that purpose in British Columbia; (j) what portion of the additional $111.8 million budgeted for the Homelessness Partnering Strategy will be delivered to communities in British Columbia; and (k) what portion of the $85.7 million in additional investment to support the construction of affordable rental housing funded through the social infrastructure commitment will be used for that purpose in British Columbia?

With regard to spending related to the preparation, presentation, and promotion of the Budget 2016, how much was spent in the following areas, broken down by cost, date, location and description of expense, (i) travel, (ii) accommodation, (iii) office supplies, (iv) promotional materials, (v) miscellaneous expenses?

With regard to the answer to Q-667, how was the $805,087,514 in uncommitted funds from four legacy federal infrastructure programs – Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund, Border Infrastructure Fund, Green Infrastructure Fund, and 2007 Building Canada Fund, spent between November 4, 2015, and March 22, 2016, broken down by (i) date, (ii) amount, (iii) source federal program from which the funding came from, (iv) details of the recipient of funding, including for each their name, province, postal code, and municipality?