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

With regard to the federal 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 and protect French across Canada, broken down by (i) education, (ii) immigration, (iii) economic development, (iv) culture and arts?

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 government’s refocused spending initiative, broken down by department or agency, program and year: how much funding has been refocused away from initiatives that support Canada’s domestic fishing industry, broken down by (i) commercial fishing and aquaculture, (ii) fish processing and distribution, (iii) Indigenous fisheries?

With regard to the government’s refocused spending initiatives in departments and agencies, broken down by item and year: what programs and initiatives from the (i) Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, (ii) Department of National Defence, (iii) Department of Veterans Affairs, (iv) Department of Health, (v) Public Health Agency of Canada, are expected to see funding refocused?

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 policing-based initiatives, broken down by (i) crime prevention, (ii) crime response, (iii) community outreach?

With regard to the government’s proposal in the 2023 Fall Economic Statement to extend and expand the budget 2023 efforts to refocus government spending: (a) what indicators did the government use to determine an additional $345.6 million in 2025-26 and $691 million ongoing was the necessary level of spending reduction while still serving Canadians effectively; (b) how did the government determine that a reduction of $345.6 million in 2025-26 and $691 million ongoing could be made without impacting the direct benefits and services that Canadians rely on; (c) how did the government conclude that the amounts in (a) were needed in addition to the $7 billion reduction in budget 2023; (d) what is the total dollar value of expected spending reductions from the loss of (i) full-time equivalent, (ii) part-time equivalent, employees; and (e) what is the total dollar value of expected spending reductions on contracts with third-party management firms?

With regard to the government’s proposal in budget 2023 to reduce government spending by $7 billion over four years: (a) what indicators did the government use to determine that $7 billion was the necessary level of spending reduction while still serving Canadians effectively; (b) how did the government determine that $7 billion in spending reductions could be made without impacting the direct benefits and services that Canadians rely on; (c) what is the total dollar value of expected spending reductions from the loss of (i) full-time equivalent, (ii) part-time equivalent, employees; and (d) what is the total dollar value of expected spending reductions on contracts with third-party management firms?

With regard to the government spending review, and broken down by department, agency, or other government entity participating in the review: (a) what are the details of all contracts signed with third parties since January 1, 2023, related to the review, including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) amount or value, (iii) vendor, (iv) manner in which the contract was awarded (sole-sourced or competitive bid), (v) description of the goods or services provided; and (b) for each contract in (a) that was signed with a consultant or consulting company, what recommendations were provided to the government?

With regard to the government’s refocused spending initiative and broken down by department or agency and program and year: how much funding has been refocused away from the Canadian Dental Care Plan?

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 planned budgetary reductions for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA): (a) is IRCC moving forward with a Deficit Reduction Action Plan (DRAP) in 2024, and, if so, what is the targeted budget reduction for the department in percentage and actual dollars, broken down by (i) IRCC region, (ii) province and territory; (b) what specific programs or services within IRCC are projected to experience reductions in funding as part of the DRAP in 2024–25, 2025–26, and 2026–27, broken down by (i) IRCC region, (ii) province and territory, (iii) Full-Time Employee (FTE) reduction; (c) how will the anticipated DRAP affect processing times for applicants, broken down by each immigration stream, including the processing of study permits, work visas and travel visas; (d) what measures will IRCC implement to ensure the DRAP does not adversely impact service delivery standards for applicants and stakeholders, including settlement organizations; (e) what workforce adjustments or layoffs, if any, are planned within IRCC to accommodate the DRAP, and what impacts are anticipated on staffing levels or FTEs and employee workloads, broken down by IRCC region; (f) how does IRCC plan to engage with and communicate these changes to key stakeholders, including provinces, territories, settlement agencies, and impacted applicants; (g) how much funding has been refocused away from the CBSA and IRCC in the government’s refocused spending initiative, broken down by year in (i) border security and enforcement, (ii) customs and trade facilitation, (iii) traveller screening, (iv) citizenship and passport services, (v) refugee resettlement; and (h) what is funding that has been refocused away from the CBSA and IRCC in the government’s refocused spending initiative being redirected toward, broken down by year?

With regard to the government’s plan to refocus and cut government spending in budget 2023, broken down by department or agency: (a) has the department or agency instituted a hiring freeze; (b) what is the total number of staff who left the department or agency since budget 2023, represented as (i) retirements, (ii) secondments, (iii) temporary leave, (iv) firing for cause, (v) restructuring; and (c) what is the total amount of savings estimated as a result of the hiring freeze?

With regard to Global Affairs Canada's (GAC) reduced operating budgets from 2024 to 2027 as per the most recent Main Estimates: (a) what is the detailed breakdown of budget reductions per branch and office in GAC, broken down by (i) year, (ii) expected budget per year after reduction, (iii) reasons for why the budgets are being reduced, (iv) title of employee managing the branch or office; (b) what is the budget reduction for every embassy, consulate, and representative office from 2024 to 2027; and (c) which of the embassies, consulates, and offices in (b) are scheduled to be closed and by what date?