Questions and responses 41st Parliament, 2nd session October 16, 2013, to August 2, 2015

With respect to Canada’s participation in the Organization of American States (OAS), since April 2010: (a) what are the names, titles, and affiliations of all persons who have represented Canada at events or meetings related to the OAS; and (b) what are the dates, file numbers, and titles of all documents prepared for the Canadian delegations or representatives, or otherwise in respect of such events or meetings?

With regard to international trade, respecting the Canada-European Union Summit in Ottawa and Toronto on September 25 and 26, 2014: what are the details of all contracts for goods or services relating to the summit, providing for each contract: (i) the name of the contractor, (ii) a description of the goods or services provided, (iii) the value of the contract, (iv) whether or not there was an open bidding process for the contract?

With respect to the Clean Energy Ministerial held in May 2014 in South Korea: (a) what are the names, titles, and affiliations of all persons who attended on behalf of Canada; and (b) what are the dates, file numbers, and titles of all documents prepared for the attendees, or otherwise in respect of Canada’s participation?

With regard to negotiations in relation to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union: since January 1, 2012, what are the costs incurred in relation to travel by government officials from the current Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, as well as the former Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, to (a) Brussels, Belgium, or (b) any other European jurisdictions for meetings about the CETA, broken down by (i) department, (ii) individual, (iii) itemized expenses?

With regard to foreign affairs: for each foreign visit or delegation described under the heading “Travel Expenses for Canadian Representation at International Conferences and Meetings” in the Public Accounts for fiscal years 2006-2007 to 2013-2014 inclusive, for each traveller or delegate who falls under the rubric of “Others” or “Stakeholders”, but not including parliamentarians or spouses of parliamentarians, what is his or her full name and the reason for which he or she was selected to join the visit or delegation?

With respect to Canada’s participation in the High-Level Meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation, held in Mexico City on April 17, 2014: (a) what are the names, titles, and affiliations of all persons who represented Canada at this meeting; and (b) what are the dates, file numbers, and titles of all documents prepared for the Canadian delegations or representatives at this meeting, or otherwise in respect of this meeting?

With regard to international trade, respecting the Canada-European Union Summit in Ottawa and Toronto on September 25 and 26, 2014: (a) what were the expenses incurred in relation to travel by government officials from the current Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development to Ottawa, or to any European location, specifying the location, broken down by (i) department, (ii) individual incurring the expense, (iii) details of the expense; and (b) what were the expenses incurred in Ottawa and in Toronto in relation to all receptions, press conferences, signing ceremonies, official meetings, or bilateral meetings, for Canadian and European officials broken down by (i) department, (ii) individual incurring the expense, (iii) details of the expense?

With regard to the government’s event entitled “Strong Girls, Strong World” scheduled to be held in Toronto on October 22, 2014: (a) who within the government was responsible for the organization of the event; (b) what was the entire budget of the event, (i) did the event go over budget, (ii) if so, what were the cost overruns, (iii) were there unforeseen expenses, (iv) if the event was cancelled, what was the amount of money the government was able to recover, (v) if the event was cancelled, what was the amount of money the government was unable to recover; (c) if the event was cancelled, will the event be rescheduled in 2015 and, if so, (i) what is the new date of the event, (ii) what is the estimated budget of the new event; (d) what was the total cost for the venue rental at the Central Technical School; (e) how many names were on the final guest list and what were the names; (f) did the government pay for the travel expenses of international visitors; (g) how was the Central Technical School chosen as a venue for the event, (i) on what date was the school first contacted with regard to the Summit, (ii) how many other venues did the event organizers contact other than the Central Technical School; (h) what was the total cost for security for the event; (i) what was the total cost for meals and hospitality for the event; and (j) was the event paid for from general consolidated revenue?

With regard to the United Nations Chiefs of Defence Conference of March 26-27, 2015, at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, and the absence of Chief of Defence Staff of the Canadian Armed Forces, General Thomas Lawson, from the Conference: (a) what was the reason for General Lawson’s absence; (b) which members of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development were present at the Conference; and (c) what measures were taken to communicate Canada’s priorities and concerns with regard to international peacekeeping to those present at the Conference?

With regard to Canadian policy concerning nuclear weapons: (a) has the government of Canada communicated or consulted with any other governments about the so-called Austrian Pledge on nuclear disarmament, that was issued following the 2014 Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, and, if so, which governments; (b) for each such communication or consultation, was it done by the Canadian government alone or in collaboration with other states, and, if the latter, which other states; (c) has the government encouraged other states to join the Austrian Pledge, and, if so, which states; (d) have other states encouraged Canada to join the Austrian Pledge, and, if so, which states; (e) what preparation has the government undertaken for the 2015 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Review Conference; (f) what steps has the government taken to implement the parliamentary motion adopted by unanimous consent on December 7, 2010, which “encourage[d] the Government of Canada to engage in negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention”; (g) does official Canadian policy concerning nuclear weapons refer explicitly to the motion cited in (f); (h) has the government explicitly referenced the motion cited in (f) in any formal démarches to other countries regarding its policy on nuclear weapons; (i) as a NATO member state which has attended all three international meetings on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, has the government shared the findings of these meetings with other NATO members; (j) how has the government contributed to NATO efforts to reach its stated goal of a world without nuclear weapons; (k) for what reasons did the government refuse to endorse the Joint Statement on the Humanitarian Consequences of Nuclear Weapons, as delivered by New Zealand at the United Nations General Assembly on October 20, 2014; (l) does the government agree with the statement that “[i]t is in the interest of the very survival of humanity that nuclear weapons are never used again, under any circumstances”; (m) under what circumstances does the government consider that the use of nuclear weapons would be appropriate; (n) how does the government reconcile the role of nuclear weapons in Canada’s security policy with Canada’s commitments under international humanitarian law and the NPT; (o) what is the government assessment of the sustainability of deterrence as a pillar of Canada's security policy; and (p) what steps has the government taken to implement the agreement of all states party to the NPT at the 2010 Review Conference, under action 5e of the Outcome Document, to reduce reliance on nuclear weapons for security?