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

With respect to the Mountain Pine Beetle disaster: (a) how much money has been designated by the government to address this issue; (b) when, where and which government official announced these allocation of funds; (c) to date, how much has been spent; (d) in which provinces and municipalities have these funds been spent; (e) how have these funds been spent; (f) which companies or front-line government agencies have received payment for related services; (g) what is the timeline for the spending of any remaining funds; and (h) how will these remaining funds be allocated?

What is the total amount of government funding, since fiscal year 2004-2005 up to and including the current fiscal year, allocated within the constituency of Vancouver Quadra, listing each department or agency, initiative, and amount?

With regard to funding for pandemic response in the 2006-2007, 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 fiscal years: (a) what is the detailed breakdown of the (i) total funding allocated, (ii) total funding spent; (b) what are the official criteria required to access the pandemic response funding; and (c) what funding amounts have been distributed, on what date and towards what project?

With respect to Health Canada and the Canadian Apheresis Group: (a) is the Minister of Health going to submit a Treasury Board submission that would renew the mandate for funding that was given by the Canadian Blood Committee and the Canadian Blood Agency (October 1997); and (b) since existing funding is expected to expire on March 15, 2010, will the government show a renewed commitment to this group by granting permanent funding?

With respect to grants and contributions provided by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development ((1) contribution of $8,691.00 to 5681 N.W.T. LTD. dated January 8, 2009, (2) contribution of $95,000 to Braden Burry Expediting dated February 9, 2009, (3) contribution of $41,000 to the NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines dated February 28, 2009, (4) contribution of $63,000 to NWT Chamber of Commerce dated March 2, 2009): (a) what were these grants or contributions used for; (b) who authorized the disbursement of these funds; and (c) under which program was the funding provided under?

With respect to the Communities at Risk: Security Infrastructure Pilot Program, what are: (a) the names of all applicants; (b) the amounts requested; (c) the amounts granted; (d) the descriptions of the projects; and (e) when applicable, the reasons of refusal?

With regard to aid for the Atlantic Canada Fishery: (a) how much funding has been allocated to each province from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ recent $65 million funding announcement; (b) what sectors of the fishery will receive the funding; (c) has any funding been allocated to support loss of income among fishermen; (d) does the government plan to contribute funding for the retirement of lobster licenses; (e) does the government plan to implement changes to the Employment Insurance system that will assist workers in the fishery sector; (f) has any new funding been allocated for industry infrastructure; (g) has any new funding been allocated toward research and development; (h) has any new funding been allocated toward easing access to credit for those in the fishery; and (i) what is the breakdown of the funding for each fiscal year from 2009 through 2014?

With regard to the costs of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games: (a) what are the direct costs, past and planned, in grants and transfers to the Province of British Columbia (BC) or the governments of any municipalities therein from the federal government; (b) will the federal government be making any financial contribution to the 2010 Olympic Games by way of loans to the BC government or the governments of any municipalities therein and, if so, have these loans already been issued and what are the current and projected total amount of any loans issued by the federal government in this matter; (c) given the existing cost overrun from the 2003 bid forecast, will or has the federal government been providing financial assistance in any way either through direct grants, transfers or loans to the provincial government of BC or the governments of any municipalities therein to cover any additional cost overruns; (d) will the BC government be solely responsible for any additional cost overruns; (e) what are the direct costs in grants and transfers to all non-governmental entities, organizations, committees and agencies associated with the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games from the federal government; (f) what are the indirect costs to the federal government for the 2010 Olympic Games including (i) direct payment and transfers to the BC provincial government or the governments of any municipalities therein in terms of transportation, logistics and salary costs associated with private and RCMP security for the Games, (ii) military security costs for transportation and logistical costs associated with all military security provided for the 2010 Olympic Games; (g) what are other infrastructure costs being born by the federal government including construction, renovation, expansion or improvements of buildings, highways, public transportation or transportation for athletes associated with the 2010 Games; and (h) what is the best government estimate at this time for the total cost of the 2010 Games to the federal government taking into consideration all aforementioned direct and indirect expenses?

With respect to Health Canada’s Women’s Health Contribution Program and the Centres of Excellence for Children’s Well Being: (a) is the Minister of Health going to submit a new submission to Treasury Board that would extend the mandate for funding that is expected to expire on March 31, 2009; and (b) will the government show a renewed commitment to these centres by granting permanent funding?

With regard to the November 2006 funding announcement made by then-Health Minister Tony Clement detailing a five-point plan for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) funding in Canada, what are the details regarding: (a) the status of the commitment to sponsor an ASD stakeholder symposium; (b) the status of the commitment to establish a chair focusing on interventions and treatment for ASD; (c) the status of the commitment to undertake a consultation process to see how an ASD surveillance program could be set up through the Public Health Agency of Canada; (d) the status of the commitment to establish a dedicated web page on the Health Canada website with ASD information and resources; (e) the status of the commitment to designate the Health Policy Branch of Health Canada as the ASD lead for actions related to ASD at the federal health portfolio level; and (f) how much federal funding these and other autism programs will receive during the fiscal year 2009-2010?

With regards to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research: (a) how much has their budget been for each year since their inception; (b) how much of that has been spent each year on research related to reproduction technologies; (c) how much of that has been spent each year on research related to stem cell research; and (d) how much of that has been spent each year on embryonic stem cell research?

Are there Canadian Heritage or Canada Council grant programs under which Les Grands Ballets Canadiens could receive more than $51,000 to stage a production outside the country and, if so, what are the programs?

With respect to the $1.7 billion invested in Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) over the last three years: (a) on what date, in what amount, and for what purposes, were the disbursements made; (b) what amount was earmarked specifically for repairs to the Chalk River reactor, (i) what repairs have been made, on what date, and at what cost, (ii) what repairs remain to be addressed, (iii) what is the estimated cost of fixing the reactor’s remaining deficiencies, (iv) what work plan is in effect to correct them; (c) what amount went to executive compensations, including performance bonuses, and which executives received such compensation, and in what amount; (d) what amount was spent on private sector consultants, (i) which consultants were so hired, and for what services, (ii) which contracts were the subject of a non-competitive, or sole-source, bid process; (e) what amount was spent to assess future consideratons to privatize AECL, (i) if private sector actors were involved, which ones, (ii) what services did they render, and at what cost; (f) what is the business case to privatize AECL, in whole or part; and (g) what amount was spent on assessing the market value of AECL, in whole or part, (i) what evaluations were given, on what date, (ii) who undertook the evaluations on AECL’s behalf?

With regards to spending and allocation by all government departments and agencies for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games an all activities relating to it: (a) what is the exact amount of money that has and will be spent or allocated for the purposes of security for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, including specifically, but not limited to, money allocated for the RCMP, local police forces, the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit, private security firms and block transfers to the Province of British Columbia for similar purposes; (b) what was the exact amount of money spent by the RCMP on its contract with Cruise Connections Charter Management of North Carolina, dated June 20, 2008; (c) what is the full and exact amount of travel expenses claimed, including specifically, but not limited to, airfare and accommodation, broken down by individual and each specific claim, of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, to date; (d) how many total RCMP and private security personnel will be detached to provide security services for the Games; (e) how many total Canadian Forces (CF) personnel will be employed to provide security services for the Games; (f) how many of these CF personnel are reservists; (g) how many of these CF personnel are regular forces personnel; and (h) what are the total anticipated salary costs of all CF personnel who are currently or will be tasked with providing security or logistical services for the 2010 Games?

With respect to the government’s cessation of funding for the First Nations and Inuit Tobacco Control Strategy announced on September 25, 2006: (a) as the evaluation of this strategy was not completed until March 2007, on what evidence of not providing “value for money” was the decision to cut funding based; (b) as the former Minister of Health, who has acknowledged the need to address the serious health implications of higher-than-average smoking rates in First Nations and Inuit populations, has given public reassurances – to the Standing Committee on Health on November 23, 2006 – that funding will be revived once a revised strategy has been developed, (i) what steps has the government taken since September 2006 to develop a revised strategy, (ii) what is the target date for the initiation of the revised strategy and its full funding; and (c) as the strategy’s evaluation document cited the absence of statistical data as an impediment in evaluation, will the collection of baseline and ongoing national tobacco use statistical data specific to First Nations and Inuit be included in the revised strategy and its funding?

Are there Canadian Heritage or Canada Council grant programs under which a dance or theatre company or a performing arts organization could receive more than $51,000 to stage a production outside the country and, if so, what are the programs?

With respect to grants and federal funding allocated or transferred by the Department of Canadian Heritage to arts and culture festivals in the province of British Columbia: (a) what was the total spending given to the province, broken down by festivals for the years 2006-2007 and 2007-2008; (b) what is the projected allocation of grants and federal funding for the years 2008-2009 and 2009-2010; and (c) specifically to the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, what amount was given or is projected to fund, broken down by program, all cultural Olympiad programs, all bilingual initiatives and the francophone village and cultural events, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010?

With respect to investing in research and innovation, specifically regarding Brock University in St. Catharine's, Ontario: (a) what is the government's plan to ensure that Canadian research and development remain an example to the rest of the world; (b) what is the government prepared to do to ensure that the best and brightest remain in Canada; (c) what research grants will the government be making available this year, both at Brock University and across Canada; (d) what new programs will the government undertake to assist students; (e) what will the government's response be to the issue of rising tuition; (f) what specific steps will the government take to invest in research and development, to improve the lives of Canadians, and to partner to help Canadian industries grow in these difficult economic times; and (g) what future investments is the government planning for Brock University specifically as well as the colleges and universities across Canada?

With respect to funds for infrastructure spending in Budget 2009: (a) what funds are new funds and what funds are carried over from Budget 2008 and previous years; (b) when will infrastructure funds be available to municipalities and provinces, (i) what will the application process be, (ii) how will the process differ from regularly budgeted funds, (iii) what steps is the government taking to ensure the application process is not redundant, (iv) what steps is the government taking to ensure the protection of environmental assessments, (v) what steps is the government taking to ensure the process is equitable across municipalities, (vi) what departments will be responsible for the funds, (vii) when do funds revert back to federal projects; (c) are there population restrictions for some or all parts of the program, and are there other restrictions that apply; (d) what new funds will require public-private partnerships; and (e) what funding will require cost-sharing with the provinces and municipalities, and are any infrastructure funds available without the requirement of cost-sharing?

With respect to government funding announcements since the January 2009 Budget: (a) how many such announcements have been made; (b) what was the location, purpose, and amount of each announcement and which Ministers and Members of Parliament were in attendance; (c) what did each announcement cost to stage, including all travel and hospitality expenses incurred for each Minister, MP, and their staff to attend the announcement; (d) did any involve previously announced funds and, if so, which ones and in what amount; and (e) for each announcement, what amount has since been transferred to each recipient, on what date were each transfer made and if such funds have yet to be transferred, what factors account for the delay?