Questions and responses 40th Parliament, 2nd session January 26, 2009, to December 30, 2009

With regards to Canadian International Development Agency's funding and programming: (a) what programs and initiatives has the Agency undertaken specifically around conflict management in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and what were the total costs associated with each for the last three fiscal years; (b) what equipment and resources were purchased through the Agency’s budget for conflict management initiatives in the CARICOM; (c) what programs has the Agency undertaken specifically designed for development aid in the CARICOM on a per country basis and what are the total costs associated for each; (d) what programs has the Agency put in place and how much funding has been reserved for emergency relief aid to the CARICOM; (e) what is the total bilateral aid funding for the CARICOM, including Guyana, in last three fiscal years; and (f) what is the total multilateral funding for the CARICOM, including Guyana, in the last three fiscal years?

With regards to Canadian International Development Agency funding and programming: (a) what programs and initiatives has the Agency undertaken specifically around conflict management in Africa and what were the total costs associated with each for the last three fiscal years; (b) what equipment and resources were purchased through the Agency’s budget for conflict management initiatives in Africa; (c) what programs has the Agency undertaken specifically designed for development aid in Africa and what are the total costs associated for each; (d) what programs has the Agency put in place and how much funding has been reserved for emergency relief aid to Africa; (e) what is the total bilateral aid funding for Africa in last three fiscal years; and (f) what is the total multilateral funding for Africa in the last three fiscal years?

With regard to the Canadian International Development Agency International Humanitarian Assistance Directorate (IHA): (a) how precisely are funding decisions made within the mandate of the IHA Directorate; (b) who has the final authority on IHA funding decisions; (c) what criteria are used by the final decision-making authority when allocating IHA funding; (d) what has been done over the last two fiscal years to improve the timeliness of IHA funding; (e) what level of funding and human resources are provided to monitoring and evaluation of IHA-funded projects; (f) how has Canada progressed on its commitments to the Good Humanitarian Donorship (GHD) initiative; and (g) what is the status of the development of a Humanitarian Assistance Framework, as committed to in Canada’s 2006 Domestic Implementation Plan for the GHD?

With regards to the implementation of Bill C-293, An Act respecting the provision of official development assistance abroad, which received Royal Assent in May 2008 and which states that for each Official Development Assistance (ODA) disbursement, the responsible Minister must be of the opinion that this disbursement meets three simultaneous tests including, contributing to poverty reduction, taking into account the perspectives of the poor and is being consistent with international human rights standards: (a) what is the process by which this Act has been applied to current Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) programming; (b) how was this Act addressed in terms of CIDA’s rationale for removal of six African countries from its list of focus; (c) how has the application process for CIDA funding been changed to reflect the provisions of this Act; (d) how have program reporting mechanisms been changed to reflect the provisions of this Act; (e) how have the provisions of this Act been adapted as criteria for multi-lateral funding; and (f) how has the agency educated CIDA employees on the provisions of this Act?

Regarding the progress achieved thus far by the Department of International Cooperation and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in the implementation of The Development Assistance Accountability Act, 2008: (a) what steps have the Minister and CIDA taken to implement the Act, specifically, what consultations, meetings, and reviews have the Minister and CIDA conducted in order to examine how future Official Development Assistance (ODA) disbursements by CIDA are to accord with the Act; (b) how many programs now accord with the mandate of the Act and what percentage of Canada’s ODA expenditures now accord with the mandate of the Act; and (c) if no progress has been made in implementing the Act, what measures will the Minister and CIDA adopt to ensure accordance with the Act?

With respect to the Canadian foreign aid committed to the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka: (a) how is aid being delivered to the conflict zone, by which international channels and organizations; (b) where is the money going and toward which specific initiatives; (c) how are decisions about funding allocations made and based on what recommendations; and (d) what, if any, accountability measures are in place to assure that the funds are reaching identified recipients?

Given that the government has stated that it intends to increase the programs it offers in Africa in 2009-2010: (a) which African countries of the Francophonie and exactly which programs will benefit from this increase; (b) what amounts will be distributed by country and by program for this increase; (c) what amounts has the government distributed to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) in 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 budgets; (d) what are the amounts that the government will distribute to the OIF in the new 2009-2010 budget; and (e) what funds will be distributed to other international institutions of la Francophonie working in Africa?

Given that Canadian International Development Agency’s (CIDA) commitment to fulfill the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to global poverty reduction, based on the CIDA Report on Plans and Priorities 2009-2010: (a) how is CIDA contributing to the fulfillment of MDGs 4 and 5; (b) what specific CIDA programs have been instituted to address MDGs 4 and 5; and (c) how much spending has been allocated by CIDA to these specific programs and to the overall attainment of these goals?

With regards to the announcement that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will steer its foreign aid toward a smaller pool of 20 countries, down from 25 announced under the previous government in 2005: (a) what were the criteria established by the department by which countries were (i) removed from the 2005 list, (ii) added to the new list of recipients; (b) when did consultation begin to discuss removing or adding countries from focus list; (c) who took part in these discussions; (d) were any non-governmental organizations, multilateral organizations, church organizations or any other third party stakeholders consulted about the proposed changes to CIDA’s focus list and, if so, which ones specifically; (e) how specifically were the obligations of the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act taken into consideration by the Agency when establishing criteria for adding or removing countries and how were the perspectives of the poor taken into account during the decision making process; (f) when, how and by whom were countries removed from the list informed of CIDA’s decision; (g) what are the projected funds to be delivered to each specific country on the new focus list; (h) what are the specific programs to be funded in each country on the new focus list; (i) does CIDA have on-the-ground field workers in each of the countries on the new focus list and, if so, how many; and (j) what accountability measures are being put in place in each of the new countries of focus to ensure that the provisions of the Act are being adhered to?

With respect to the money provided by the government in 2008 to the International Organization on Migration (IOM) for assistance to Darfur refugees in the Aweil State in Sudan: (a) did the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) or any other government department or agency contribute funds to help the Darfur refugees and, if so, what was the exact dollar amount contributed, on what date or dates, and to whom were these funds contributed; (b) was a budget proposed or requested by any government agency, department, non-governmental organization or international organization relating to these particular relief funds; (c) what information was provided to CIDA, and by whom, from which the government’s contribution amount was assessed for this particular crisis; (d) did the government provide any on-ground support or monitoring of relief work for this particular circumstance and, if so, in what capacity, and for how long; (e) have CIDA officials or any other government agency or department requested updates on the Darfur refugees and, if so, were any provided and by whom and what has been done with that information; and (f) what current measures is the government providing to ensure continued monitoring of mass migration and relief aid for refugees migrating into other ill-equipped areas of Southern Sudan?

With respect to Canada’s contribution to millennium development goals (MDGs) and democratic governance: (a) how will the Canadian International Development Agency reach the target populations in each of the 20 new countries on the focus list, especially countries where the target populations are in the minority; (b) which subnational concentration strategies will be applied; (c) which MDGs will be targeted in each country selected; and (d) what percentage of bilateral aid for each country will go directly to achieving MDGs?

With respect to Canada’s humanitarian, reconstruction and foreign aid to the Palestinian people living in the occupied Palestinian territories: (a) what is the current status of the $300 million in foreign aid originally pledged in 2006 and re-pledged March 3, 2009 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt; (b) what progress was made on delivering these funds in the interim period between its original pledge and its re-pledge; (c) what are the delivery mechanisms for this aid and what department is responsible for the file; (d) what are the terms of reference for this file, and what are the timelines for delivery; (e) what proportion of these funds have been earmarked for Gaza and what are the proportions for each (i) reconstruction, (ii) humanitarian aid; (f) given the lack of construction materials within Gaza and the constrained flow of material into Gaza, what provisions have been made to ensure reconstruction; (g) what discussions, if any, have taken place with the Government of Israel to ensure protection of Canada’s investment in Gazan infrastructure; (h) what proportion of the $300 million has been earmarked for the operational budget of the Fatah-led Palestinian National Authority (PA), based in Ramallah, West Bank and what aspects of the PA’s budget will benefit from these funds; (i) given the PA’s inability to operate in Gaza, what operational caveats were placed on those portions of the $300 million earmarked for Gaza to ensure delivery; (j) what is the current status of the $4 million announced by the Government of Canada on January 7, 2009 for humanitarian aid at the height of Israel’s military operation on Gaza, to be divided between the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians in the Near East and the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent; (k) what commitments, if any, were made to deliver these funds in a timely manner to the people for whom they were allocated and how did they help alleviate the suffering of civilians under duress as a result of Israel’s bombardment; (l) were these funds delivered (i) if not, why, and what is the current status of the funds, (ii) if so, how, and what were the delivery mechanisms for this aid, the Canadian federal department responsible for the file and the terms of reference for the file; (m) what were, or are expected to be, the concrete outcomes of the funds in terms of medicines, foodstuffs, shelter, water or other material; (n) was the aid delivered, or will it be delivered, through Egypt or Israel; (o) was the aid at any point inhibited by Israel’s restrictions on aid flow during the military operation and, if so, what plans, if any, does the government have to hold public debate on this matter and how will this affect future Canadian aid flow to Gaza; and (p) what other funds have been allocated by the government for Gaza?

With regard to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) expenditures, what are the: (a) most recent statistical updates on International Assistance; (b) detailed breakdown of expenditures by department and unit within CIDA, for the most recent three fiscal years; (c) definitions of what precisely is counted in Official Development Assistance, Humanitarian Assistance and the International Assistance Envelope; (d) cost of the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) deployments to Pakistan, in October 2005 and Sri Lanka, in 2004-2005, and specifically which part of these deployments were covered by CIDA; (e) most recent five fiscal year breakdowns of funds provided to all United Nations Agencies, directly to foreign governments (bilateral) and to non-governmental organisations (excluding the Red Cross); (f) most recent numbers for all CIDA Gender-related program expenditures; and (g) most recent five fiscal year breakdowns of all CIDA overheads (administrative costs)?