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

With regard to the Canada Summer Jobs program: (a) what has been the program’s total budget since 2013, inclusively, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) electoral district; (b) what is the program’s total budget in each electoral district for the summer of 2016; (c) what criteria are used to determine the amount allocated to a district; and (d) what are the details of the figures that were used to determine the allocation for the district of Jonquière?

With regard to testimony from the Acting Chief Financial Officer of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces on February 19, 2019, at the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance, where she stated that the Department of National Defence had just recosted all of its projects: (a) by project, which had an increase in forecasted costs, which had a decrease in forecasted costs, and which saw no change in forecasted costs; (b) of the projects listed in (a) which had their budgets changed; (c) what is the impact of these changes in costing on (i) the contingency included in the annual projection for capital spending, (ii) the overall cost of these projects, (iii) project scope to stay within budget if the budget was not increased?

With regard to the Skills Link program: (a) what has been the program’s total budget since 2013, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) electoral district; (b) what is the program’s total budget in each electoral district for 2016; and (c) what are the criteria for determining the amount allocated to the applicant organization?

With regard to the Skills Link program: (a) what is the program’s total budget since 2015, broken down by (i) calendar year, (ii) constituency; (b) what is the program’s total budget per constituency for 2015, 2016 and 2017; and (c) what are the criteria for determining the amount allocated to an applicant?

With regard to the comments by the Commissioner of Lobbying in an interview with the Canadian Press that “If we want to be able to modernize, there is no way we will be able to do it with the current budget”: will the government increase the budget of the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying and, if so, by how much?

With regard to the proposed replacement of the Office of Religious Freedoms: (a) what are the detailed cost estimates of changes to the department and operations of the new office; (b) to reflect the Office’s new name, what costs will be incurred on (i) signage, (ii) promotional materials; and (c) what is the overall budget for the new office?

With regard to statements made by the Minister of Veterans Affairs on Thursday, November 30, 2017, during the Standing Committee of Veterans Affairs’ meeting on Supplementary Estimates (B) 2017-18, where the Minister, in his statement, made claims that funding to the Department of Veterans Affairs had been diminished before the current government was elected: (a) what were the announced budgeted spending amounts for the Department of Veterans Affairs each year in Budgets tabled from 1999 to 2017; (b) what was the change in funding, by percentage, for Budgets announced from 1999 to 2017; (c) within the Department of Veterans Affairs, what were the amounts budgeted, since 1999 for (i) benefits, (ii) administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs, (iii) Military Resource Family Resource Centres, (iv) Veterans Affairs Service Centres, (v) the Ministry of Veterans Affairs; and (d) what were the staffing levels in the Department of Veterans Affairs since 2010 in (i) Veterans Affairs Service Centres, (ii) Benefits Administration, (iii) the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, (iv) program administration?

With regard to each expenditure contained in each budget or budget implementation bill since fiscal year 2016-17, inclusively: (a) has the Department of Finance done an economic impact analysis of the expenditure; (b) if the answer to (a) is affirmative, what is the date, name and file number of any record which constitutes part of that analysis; (c) has the Department of Finance relied on any economic impact analysis of any organization outside government on the expenditure or not; (d) if the answer to (c) is affirmative, (i) which organizations analysed the measure, (ii) what is the date, name and file number of any record obtained from that organization which constitutes part of that analysis; and (e) what were the findings of each analysis in (b) and (d), broken down by expenditure?

With regard to the budgets for ministerial offices, broken down by Minister, including the Prime Minister: (a) how many exempt staff members are in each Minister’s office; (b) what is the total budget for salaries for each office for the 2016-2017 fiscal year; (c) what is the projected budget for salaries for each office for the 2017-2018 fiscal year; (d) what is the overall budget for each office for the 2016-2017 fiscal year; and (e) what is the overall projected budget for each office for the 2017-2018 fiscal year?

With regard to the Skills Link program and the calls for proposals during the summer of 2016: (a) what is the total number of projects in the two streams (the regular stream and the innovation stream) submitted as part of the call for proposals for the 2016 Skills Link program; (b) what is the total number of projects in the two streams submitted as part of the 2016 Skills Link program in Quebec; (c) what is the total number of projects in the two streams submitted as part of the 2016 Skills Link program in the constituency of Abitibi—Témiscamingue; (d) what was the total amount budgeted for the entire Skills Link program associated with the 2016 call for proposals; (e) what was the total budget amount granted to the 2016 call for proposals for Quebec; (f) what was the total budget amount granted to the 2016 call for proposals for Abitibi–Témiscamingue; (g) what is the residual budget amount (the funds that have still not been allocated) for the Skills Link program; (h) what is the nature (source, deadlines) of the budget envelope for the Skills Link program; (i) how many employees are assigned to analyze the innovation stream of the Skills Link program; (j) how many projects from the two streams associated with the 2016 call for proposals were approved in Canada, and what were the amounts granted to these projects; (k) how many projects from the two streams were rejected; (l) how many projects from the innovation stream are still waiting for approval; (m) how many projects from the two streams for the 2016 call for proposals were approved in Quebec, and what were the amounts granted to these projects; (n) how many projects from the two streams for the 2016 call for proposals were approved in Abitibi—Témiscamingue, and what were the amounts granted to these projects; (o) how many projects under the Skills Link program (by program stream) have been granted in the constituency of Abitibi—Témiscamingue since 2007; and (p) what were the amounts granted in the Abitibi—Témiscamingue riding as part of the Skills Link program (by year and program stream) since 2007?

With regard to Minister's offices: what is the approved budget for each office, including the Prime Minister's office, for the 2016-17 fiscal year, broken down by individual Minister?

With regard to the budget of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, broken down by program and sub-program area: (a) from 2011-2012 to 2016-2017, what was the budget amount allocated, divided by base spending and program spending; (b) from 2011-2012 to 2016-2017, what was the budget amount actually spent, divided by base spending and program spending; (c) from 2016-2017 to 2020-2021, what is the amount that is projected to be allocated, divided by base spending and program spending; and (d) what are the amounts in (a), (b) and (c) that will be taken from the lump-sum dollar figure that is set out under the two per cent cap?

With respect to funding of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship for the Language Training Sub-Sub-Program (currently 3.1.1.1 in 2017-18 Departmental Performance E-tables - Sub-Programs): (a) for 2015, 2016, and 2017, broken down by year, what is or was the budget; (b) for 2015, 2016, and 2017, broken down by year and province, what is or was the budget for level 1 and level 2 for each province, broken down by level; (c) how are decisions made to change funding for the different levels of training; and (d) what was the rationale for removing funding for level 2 training from organizations in Manitoba?

With regard to the Office of Human Rights, Freedoms and Inclusion: (a) what is the overall budget for the new office; (b) what are the specific projects that the office has funded; and (c) what is the complete list all official statements released by the office since its creation?

With respect to budgets at the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Canada (INAC) from 2010-2011 to 2016-2017: (a) what amount was budgeted to each INAC regional office and program area, broken down by (i) program area, (ii) fiscal year; (b) how much of those amounts identified in (a) were spent; (c) what amount of the total budgeted funds were returned to Treasury Board as unspent; (d) what incentives do regional and headquarter offices have to lower their spending below budgeted amounts; (e) how many INAC personnel received financial bonuses for their work, broken down by fiscal year; (f) what were the amounts of each bonus identified in (e); and (g) what was the total amount spent by INAC on bonuses in each province and territory, broken down by fiscal year?

With regard to the $26 million available through Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada for fire protection services for First Nations communities: (a) how much of the $8.2 million allocated for capital spending (equipment and infrastructure) has been used since 2006, broken down by year; (b) which First Nations communities have used this fund to update firefighting equipment; (c) how much of the $8.2 million was used for fire protection infrastructure; (d) what is the surplus remaining annually since 2006, broken down by year; and (e) how is the surplus, if there is one, to be distributed in the year that follows?

With regard to the answer to Order Paper question Q-616 on the budgets of Indigenous and Northern Affairs and for Health Canada’s First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB): (a) how do the departments follow Treasury Board Secretariat policies of internal control, as well as provisions in the Financial Administration Act, if they do not track base spending and sunsetting funds; (b) how do the departments project future funding if they are not tracking what funds are sunsetting and what funds are in base spending; (c) how do the departments determine necessary additional budget investments without tracking what funding sunsets; (d) how does the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs provide information about base spending on the sections of its website entitled (i) National First Nations Consolidated Infrastructure Investment Report 2014-15, (ii) National First Nations Infrastructure Investment Plan 2015-2016, if it claims to not track base spending; (e) how did the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs calculate, in its answer to Order Paper question Q-616, the spending above the two per cent cap both for the 22% figure and the 16% figure; (f) what are the details of the calculation in (e); (g) what is the formula with which the calculation in (e) was made; (h) what is the amount of money that is the two per cent base spending for 2016-2017 that the Department used to calculate its answer to Order Paper question Q-616; (i) what is the amount of money from budget 2016-2017, broken down by program, that the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs used in its answer to Order Paper question Q-616 to calculate the amount above the two per cent cap the government would be spending; (j) did the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs use the same formula to provide the amount the Department spent above the two per cent cap for each year since 1994; (k) for each year since the two per cent cap was put in place, what amount of money in both dollars and percentage was above the level of funding that would have been provided under the two per cent funding cap as calculated with the formula used in the answer to section (d) of Order Paper question Q-616; (l) did the Office for the Coordination of Parliamentary Returns (OCPR) at the Privy Council Office (PCO) assign Order Paper question Q-616 regarding analysis conducted by the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs; (m) what is the title of the individual who put together the response; (n) on what date was the response finalized; (o) did OCPR assign any part of the analysis of Order Paper question Q-616 to the Department of Finance; and (p) did anyone from either the Office of the Prime Minister, the Office of the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, or the Minister’s office provide any advice or instruction regarding the response to Order Paper question Q-616 and, if so, what are the details of these communications, including (i) the titles of the individuals who provided the advice or instruction, (ii) the specific advice or instructions that were given?