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

With regard to Canadian Environmental Protection Act investigations and prosecutions during 2020-21, broken down by category of offence: (a) how many investigations were conducted; (b) how many investigations have resulted in prosecutions; (c) how many prosecutions have resulted in convictions; (d) what was the average length in days of an investigation that resulted in a conviction, from initiation to either laying of charges or discontinuation for (i) small and medium enterprises, (ii) large enterprises; (e) how much money was spent investigating violations by small and medium enterprises, broken down by industry; (f) how much money was spent on investigating violations by large businesses, broken down by industry; (g) how much money was spent prosecuting violations by small and medium enterprises, broken down by type of business; and (h) how much money was spent prosecuting violations by large enterprises, broken down by type of business?

With regard to Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada's Northern Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program: (a) what has the government identified as the particular (i) engineering, (ii) geological, (iii) environmental, (iv) social, challenges of the Faro Mine remediation project; (b) what has the government identified as the (i) environmental, (ii) economic, (iii) social, costs and impacts of not undertaking remediation of the Faro Mine site; (c) what is the projected budget of the Faro Mine remediation (i) for the complete remediation, (ii) broken down by year until the project is completed; (d) have the consultants contracted by the government to date recommended any ongoing site maintenance after the projected remediation completion date of 2036-37; (e) what, if any, is the estimated duration of ongoing post-completion site maintenance; (f) what are the estimated annual costs for post-completion maintenance; (g) what were the total expenditures on (i) consultants, (ii) construction and maintenance, (iii) materials, each year from 2020-21 to 2024-25; (h) what are the details of all consulting contracts signed related to the program, including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) vendor, (iii) amount, (iv) description of the goods or services, (v) issues consulted on, (vi) manner in which the contract was awarded (sole-sourced or competitive bid); (i) has the government held any public consultations on the program since January 1, 2020, and, if so, what are the details of each consultation, including (i) the date, (ii) the location, (iii) the form (town hall meeting, online questionnaire, etc.), (iv) who conducted it, (v) the total associated expenditures, broken down by type of expense, (vi) the summary of the feedback received from the consultation; and (j) how many people does the government estimate are currently affected (i) directly, (ii) indirectly, by the mine site?

With regard to action by the current Minister of Environment and Climate Change to prevent eco-terrorism in Canada, since being sworn in as minister: (a) what specific measures, if any, has the minister done to prevent eco-terrorism in Canada; (b) has the minister publicly called for individuals and organizations to refrain from participating in such activity, and, (i) if not, why not, (ii) if so, what are the details; and (c) has the minister been provided with any documents showing the dangers or economic damage caused by eco-terrorism or the threat of eco-terrorism, and, if so, what are the details of all such documents, including the (i) date they were provided to the minister, (ii) sender, (iii) title, (iv) summary of the contents, (v) file number, (vi) type of document?

With regard to projects or initiatives that support soil conservation and soil health in Canada, broken down by fiscal year since 2015-16: (a) what are the details of all resources dedicated to (i) developing and maintaining soil organic matter, soil erosion risk and soil cover indicators, (ii) the Canadian Soil Information Service, (iii) the Environmental Farm Plans, (iv) the On-Farm Applied Research and Monitoring program; (b) has the government established measurable goals for soil conservation and soil health, including the (i) transition to farming practices that remove carbon dioxide from the environment, (ii) farming practices that use minimal tillage methods; and (c) does the government believe that there is a link between soil health and accessible, affordable food?

With regard to the ecological corridor funding announced in Manitoba on November 29, 2024: (a) what entities did the government consult directly regarding the ecological corridor, prior to the funding announcement and what are the details, including, for each, the (i) date they were consulted, (ii) method by which they were consulted, (iii) identified type of stakeholder; (b) what specific agricultural advocacy groups, organizations, and associations in Manitoba did the government consult prior to the announcement; (c) which consultations did the federal government host on the proposed ecological corridor that were open to the general public prior to November 29, 2024 and what are the details, including, for each meeting, the (i) date of the meeting, (ii) location, (iii) way in which the public was notified, (iv) date the public was notified; (d) what elected officials were informed by the government of the ecological corridor funding and the announcement, prior to November 29, 2024, if any; and (e) were any of the elected officials in (d) a (i) mayor, (ii) reeve, (iii) councillor, (iv) member of the Legislative Assembly, (v) member of Parliament, and, if so, what was their name and title?

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 Canada Growth Fund (CGF): (a) what are the details of the proposed standards and metrics of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) framework to be imposed on investments; (b) how will deals be measured or assessed against the ESG framework; (c) what will be the ESG measurement and reporting standards required of companies; (d) will the CGF require that the measurements and reports in (c) be externally audited; (e) will the (i) measurements and reports, (ii) findings of the related audits, be made publicly available, and, if so, how; (f) what are the details of the corporate structure responsible for administering the Canada Growth Fund, including the (i) board composition, (ii) appointment process, (iii) terms of service; (g) what are the selection criteria, the process and the status for hiring the senior executive management team; and (h) what specific accountability mechanisms, if any, is the government putting in place to ensure that CGF funds, including operational funding, are not mismanaged or used fraudulently?

With regard to the study, commissioned in part by the government, related to the dikes on the Isthmus of Chignecto, which was scheduled to be completed earlier this year and awarded to Wood Environment & Infrastructure Solutions: (a) was the study completed in February 2021, as per the original plan, and, if not, when was the study completed; (b) what were the findings of the study; (c) where can the public access the study's report, including the web location, if applicable; and (d) will the study's report be tabled in the House of Commons, and, if so, when?

With regard to the Oceans Protection Plan (OPP) announced by the government in 2016: (a) how much money has been allocated to the department of (i) Transport, (ii) Fisheries and Oceans, (iii) the Environment, under the OPP, broken down by year since 2016; (b) how much money has been spent under the OPP by the department of (i) Transport, (ii) Fisheries and Oceans, (iii) the Environment, broken down by year and program since 2016; (c) how much money from the OPP has been allocated to the Whales Initiative, broken down by year since 2016; (d) how much money has been spent under the OPP on the Whales Initiative since 2016; (e) how much money has been spent under the OPP on efforts to mitigate the potential impacts of oil spills, broken down by year and by program since 2016; and (f) what policies does the government have in place to ensure that the funding allocated under the OPP is spent on its stated goals in a timely manner?

With regard to federal funding for environmental projects within the federal electoral district of Courtenay—Alberni, since the 2005-06 fiscal year: broken down by fiscal year, recipient, project, total contribution, funding program, and type of funding, what have been the federal investments in (i) terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity, (ii) ecosystem and habitat protection, conservation, and restoration, (iii) species recovery, including, but not limited to, salmon, (iv) Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, (v) green infrastructure, (vi) conservation financing, (vii) energy efficiency, (viii) clean transportation, (ix) living natural resources and land use, (x) sustainable water and wastewater management, (xi) pollution prevention and control, (xii) climate change mitigation and adaptation, (xiii) the circular economy?

With regard to government funding for Équiterre, since November 4, 2015, broken down by department or agency: (a) what are the details of each instance where the government provided funding to Équiterre, including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) amount, (iii) type of funding (grant, loan, contract, etc.), (iv) details of the funding agreement, (v) purpose of the funding; and (b) for each funding instance that was in the form of a contract, was the contract awarded through a sole-sourced or competitive bid process?

With regard to projected government spending from now until 2030: (a) broken down by year, how much will be spent through the (i) 2 Billion Trees program, (ii) Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund, (iii) Agricultural Climate Solutions program; and (b) what is the breakdown of (a)(iii) by program stream?

With regard to the Oceans Protection Plan (OPP) announced by the government in 2016: (a) how much money has been allocated to the departments of (i) Transport, (ii) Fisheries and Oceans, (iii) Environment and Climate Change, under the OPP, since 2016, broken down by year; (b) how much money has been spent under the OPP by the departments of (i) Transport, (ii) Fisheries and Oceans, (iii) Environment and Climate Change, since 2016, broken down by year and program; (c) how much money from the OPP has been allocated to the Whales Initiative, since 2016, broken down by year; (d) how much money has been spent under the OPP on the Whales Initiative since 2016; (e) how much money has been spent under the OPP on efforts to mitigate the potential impacts of oil spills, since 2016, broken down by year and by program; and (f) what policies does the government have in place to ensure that the funding allocated under the OPP is spent on its stated goals in a timely manner?

With regard to federal expenditures on wildland fire management for 2023, broken down by province and territory: (a) what are the total expenditures to date on wildland fire protection and suppression, including (i) fire preparedness, (ii) mitigation, (iii) response, (iv) recovery; and (b) what are the total anticipated expenditures on wildland fire protection and suppression, including (i) fire preparedness, (ii) mitigation, (iii) response, (iv) recovery?

With regard to government funding of non-governmental organizations or groups, from November 4, 2015, to present: (a) how much money has the government allocated to (i) Green Economy Canada, (ii) Alberta EcoTrust, (iii) Corporate Knights, (iv) Echo Foundation, (v) Eco Canada, (vi) Ivey Foundation, (vii) Resilient LLP, (viii) Canadian Climate Institute, (ix) Ecofiscal Commission; (b) for each entity in (a), what are the details, including the (i) department, agency or other government entity, (ii) date of the funding, (iii) amount and deliverables expected; (c) of the allocations in (a), which ones were (i) sole-sourced, (ii) awarded through a competitive bidding process; (d) of the allocations in (c)(ii), what was the (i) duration of the competition, (ii) number of organizations that submitted bids for the required deliverables; and (e) what programs from each organization in (a) received government funding, broken down by year and deliverables expected?

With regard to the Greening Government Strategy’s on-road fleet targets: (a) what is the total number of new light-duty fleet vehicles purchased that are (i) zero-emission vehicles, (ii) hybrid electric vehicles; and (b) what is the total number of vehicles within Canada’s light-duty fleet vehicles that are either zero-emission or hybrid-electric, reflected both as a number and a total percentage?

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 that promote the protection of the environment and human health from hazardous chemicals, broken down by (i) chemicals management, (ii) pesticides and pest management, (iii) plastic pollution, (iv) enforcement?

With regard to the items listed in the Main Estimates, 2024-25, under Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs: (a) of the $94,603,783 and the $4,151,000 respectively listed under "Contributions for promoting the safe use, development, conservation and protection of the North's natural resources, and promoting scientific development" and "Grants for promoting the safe use, development, conservation and protection of the North's natural resources, and promoting scientific development", what are the details of projects funded with this allocation, including, for each, the (i) name of the recipient, (ii) amount, (iii) purpose of the funding, (iv) project description, (v) location; and (b) what criteria were used to determine which projects would receive funding, and how much funding each project in (a) would receive?