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

With regard to the announcement in the 2018 Fall Economic Statement making available up to $755 million on a cash basis over ten years to establish a Social Finance Fund, and specifically with regard to the reference on Page 167 of Budget 2019, Investing in the Middle Class, regarding “Renewal Funds (British Columbia) provides early-stage growth capital to for-profit social enterprises with the potential to create social or environmental change in industries such as clean technology and sustainable agriculture”: (a) what is the exact funding amount earmarked for Renewal Funds (British Columbia); (b) what are the definitions of “sustainable agriculture” and “clean technology” with respect to this Fund; (c) how will that funding be allocated between clean technology and sustainable agriculture; (d) who are the “professional investment managers” who will manage the allocated funding; (e) what is the application process for enterprises seeking funding under this Fund; and (f) which government departments or agencies oversee this Fund?

With regard to the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP) for the past 3 years, broken down by year: (a) which countries are included in the program; (b) how many workers did each country send; (c) what was the breakdown of workers by province or territory; (d) for workers under the program, broken down by province or territory, what was the average (i) rate of pay, (ii) total earnings; (e) what was the average amount of earnings that the workers remit to their home country, broken down by province or territory; and (f) how many farms rely on the SAWP program, broken down by province or territory?

With regard to government interactions with and expenditures related to Canada 2020: (a) what are the details of any roles or expenditures the following organizations have in relation to the “Canada Food Brand Project” being put on by Canada 2020, (i) Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, (ii) Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada, (iii) Farm Credit Canada, (iv) National Research Council of Canada; (b) how much did each organization listed in (a) pay Canada 2020 to be listed as a “participant” or “partner” for the project; and (c) what are the details of any other expenditures the organizations in (a) had with Canada 2020 since November 4, 2015, including (i) total, (ii) purpose, (iii) date?

With regard to the statement by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food in the Senate Chamber on May 29, 2018, that “most farmers support the moves we have made to make sure that we put a tax on carbon”: what evidence, if any, does the government have to back up this claim?

With regard to the development of Canada’s new Food Guide: (a) has Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada done any studies related to the impact of the Guide on various sectors of the agricultural industry; (b) if the answer to (a) is affirmative, what are the details of the studies, including (i) findings, (ii) who conducted the study, (iii) website where findings are located; and (c) what specific role does the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food have in relation to the development of the new Food Guide?

With respect to the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, and with respect to the agriculture stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program: (a) how many applications has the government received for temporary labourers for the 2018 crop harvesting season for each program; (b) how many applications have been approved thus far for the 2018 crop harvesting season for each program; (c) how many applications have been denied thus far for the 2018 crop harvesting season for each program, including rationale; (d) how many applications did the government receive for temporary labourers for the 2017 crop harvesting season for each program; (e) how many applications were approved for the 2017 crop harvesting season for each program; and (f) how many applications were denied for the 2017 crop harvesting season for each program, including rationale?