Questions and responses 45th Parliament, 1st session May 26, 2025, to present

With regard to comments made by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation at the Standing Committee on Science and Research on April 20, 2026, that "There are agreements to procure Canadian goods" in relation to trade with China: (a) what specific agreements was the member referring to; (b) on what dates were these agreements signed, and which parties are signatories; (c) do these agreements include binding provisions requiring the purchase or procurement of Canadian goods, and, if so, what are the enforcement mechanisms; (d) what reciprocal market access commitments, if any, has China agreed to under these agreements; (e) what conditions, safeguards or protections are in place to prevent non-reciprocal access to Canadian markets by Chinese firms; (f) has the government conducted any assessment of the risks associated with opening Canadian markets to the Chinese Communist party without enforceable reciprocity, and, if so, what were the findings; and (g) has any Canadian market access been granted or expanded in the absence of equivalent or enforceable commitments from China, and, if so, what are the details?

With regard to government information on the imports and exports of infant formula, broken down by year for each of the last three years: (a) how much formula has been (i) imported, (ii) exported; and (b) how much revenue has been received by the government from (i) import fees or tariffs, (ii) export fees or tariffs?

With regard to the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act in response to the extraterritorial application of United States laws related to the embargo against Cuba (Title III of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act), since January 1, 2015: (a) what measures has the government taken to protect Canadian companies affected, directly or indirectly, by the extraterritorial application of United States laws related to the embargo against Cuba; (b) how many Canadian companies have reported to the government that they have been affected by the extraterritorial application of these laws; (c) for each reported case, what are the details, including the (i) date of the report, (ii) industry of the affected company, (iii) nature of the pressure or proceedings faced, (iv) amounts involved; (d) has the government issued any orders, directives or corrective measures under the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act in relation to these cases, and, if so, what are the details of each; and (e) have any legal proceedings been initiated in Canada to enforce the provisions of the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act or to recover damages, and, if so, what are the details and outcomes of such proceedings?

With regard to all temporary suspensions of operations to the electronic systems controlling the import and export of goods across the Canadian border, whether operated by the Canada Border Services Agency or any other government department or agency (hereafter referred to as an “outage”), since November 4, 2015: (a) what is the total number of outages, broken down by month; (b) with regard to each outage in (a), (i) what was the cause, (ii) when was it first detected, (iii) when was it communicated to clients or users (importers, exporters, customs brokers, etc.), (iv) how was it communicated to clients (email, customs notice, etc.), (v) when was it fully resolved, (vi) how many hours did it last, (vii) what electronic systems were impacted (eManifest Portal, Canadian Export Reporting System Portal, Canada Assessment and Revenue Management Client Portal, Commercial Accounting Declaration, Application Program Interface, Single Window Initiative, Electronic Data Interchange, etc.); (c) for each outage in (a) what was the estimated economic cost; (d) what was the estimated economic cost of outages, broken down by month and by year; (e) with regard to each outage in (a) were any private consultants or contractors hired to assist in resolving the outage, and, if so, (i) what was the name of the consultant or business hired, (ii) what was the value of the contract awarded, (iii) what was the description of the services rendered, (iv) what were the contract start and end dates, (v) was each deliverable satisfied; and (f) with regard to each outage in (a) have any internal investigations, reviews or audits been launched regarding the outage, and, if so, (i) what types of action were launched, (ii) what are the findings, (iii) what remedial measures have been recommended or taken as a result?

With regard to all temporary suspensions of operations to the electronic systems controlling the import and export of goods across the Canadian border, whether operated by the Canada Border Services Agency or any other government department or agency (hereafter referred to as an "outage"), since September 21, 2021: (a) what is the total number of outages, broken down by month; (b) with regard to each outage in (a), (i) what was the cause, (ii) when was it first detected, (iii) when was it communicated to clients or users (importers, exporters, customs brokers, etc.), (iv) how was it communicated to clients (email, customs notice, etc.), (v) when was it fully resolved, (vi) how many hours did it last, (vii) what electronic systems were impacted (eManifest Portal, Canadian Export Reporting System Portal, Canada Border Services Agency Assessment and Revenue Management Client Portal, Commercial Accounting Declaration, Application Program Interface, Single Window Initiative, Electronic Data Interchange, etc.); (c) for each outage in (a), did the Canada Border Services Agency undertake an analysis of the estimated economic cost of the outage, and, if so, what was the result of each analysis; (d) with regard to each outage in (a), were any private consultants or contractors hired to assist in resolving the outage, and, if so, (i) what was the name of the consultant or business hired, (ii) what was the value of the contract awarded, (iii) what was the description of the services rendered, (iv) what were the contract start and end dates, (v) was each deliverable satisfied; and (e) with regard to each outage in (a), have any internal investigations, reviews or audits been launched regarding the outage, and, if so, (i) what types of action were launched, (ii) what are the findings, (iii) what remedial measures have been recommended or taken as a result?

With regard to the Canada-United Arab Emirates Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, Global Affairs Canada and the export of weapons and weapon parts: (a) what measures will the government take to ensure Canadian investments are not used to (i) arm the Rapid Support Forces, (ii) fund projects that utilize modern-day slave labour; (b) how will the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement fulfill the objective of “supporting a just, lasting, and sustainable peace in the Middle East” despite the United Arab Emirates' funding of the Rapid Support Forces; (c) to which organizations, entities, individuals and groups has Global Affairs Canada authorized the sale of Sterling Cross firearms since 2013; (d) what measures is the government taking to prevent Canadian-made weapons from being used by the Rapid Support Forces and other paramilitary groups associated with the United Arab Emirates; and (e) how many and which types of weapons and weapon parts has Canada exported to the United Arab Emirates since 2023?

With regard to Janice Charette in her role as Chief Trade Negotiator to the United States since her appointment: (a) what are the total costs incurred by the government to date, in total and broken down by type of expense, including travel, accommodation, per diems, hospitality, and other expenses; (b) what are the details of all accommodation expenses incurred, including for each stay the (i) name of the hotel, (ii) room rate, (iii) location, (iv) total bill; (c) were there any hospitality expenditures incurred, and, if so, what are the details of each, including the (i) date, (ii) event description, (iii) location, (iv) cost, in total and broken down by item, (v) number of attendees; (d) how many employees support the operations of the Chief Trade Negotiator's office; (e) what is the breakdown of those employees by position or classification; (f) what is the total annual cost of salaries for these employees; (g) has the office engaged any external consultants, contractors, or third parties to support its operations, and, if so, what are the details of each contract, including the (i) date, (ii) vendor, (iii) value, (iv) description of services provided, (v) procurement method (competitive or sole-sourced); and (h) what are the total annual costs associated with maintaining the operations of the Chief Trade Negotiator's office?

With regard to Bill C-202, An Act to amend the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act (supply management): (a) is it the government's position that this bill, upon receiving royal assent, will become a law of Canada; (b) if the answer to (a) is affirmative, is it the government's position that the law would bind His Majesty in right of Canada; (c) if the answer to (b) is negative, (i) why not, (ii) is this position backed by a legal opinion; and (d) if the answer to (c)(ii) is affirmative, what are the particulars of the legal opinion, including the (i) date it was given, (ii) person who approved it, (iii) person who requested it?