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

With regard to the sale of Canadian diplomatic properties abroad, for the period from 2006-2013: (a) which properties have been sold, and for each property, (i) what was the assessed value, (ii) who was responsible for the valuation, (iii) what was the asking price, (iv) what was the final sale price, (v) what real estate agency or similar private company was engaged to execute or assist in the sale, (vi) how much was each private company paid for the sale, (vii) were there other expenses incurred (fees, taxes, etc) as part of the sale and, if so, what was the total cost; (b) which properties are for sale or are under consideration for eventual sale, and for each property, (i) what is the assessed value, (ii) who was responsible for the valuation, (iii) what is the asking price, (iv) what real estate agency or similar private company is being engaged to execute or assist in the sale, (v) how much is each private company being paid for the sale; and (c) specifically regarding the sale of MacDonald House in London, United Kingdom, (i) what was the assessed value, (ii) who was responsible for the valuation, (iii) what was the asking price, (iv) what was the final sale price, (v) how much was Savills plc. paid for the sale, (vi) was any other private company engaged to provide services during or related to the sale, (vii) if so, what was the name of each company, what service did it provide, and how much was it paid, (viii) were there other expenses incurred (fees, taxes, etc) as part of the sale and, if so, what was the total cost?

With regard to the property owned by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) at 250 Lanark Avenue in Ottawa: (a) is the property designated as surplus; (b) if so, is the property designated as surplus strategic or surplus routine; (c) does PWGSC intend to dispose of the property; (d) if so, what is the planned timeframe for the disposal of the property; (e) how is the green space at the property currently being used; (f) what are the reasons for restricting public access to the green space at the property?

With regard to the disposition of government assets since January 1, 2006: (a) on how many occasions has the government repurchased or reacquired a lot which had been disposed of in accordance with the Treasury Board Directive on the Disposal of Surplus Materiel; and (b) for each such occasion, what was (i) the description or nature of the item or items which constituted the lot, (ii) the sale account number or other reference number, (iii) the date on which the sale closed, (iv) the price at which the item was disposed of to the buyer, (v) the price at which the item was repurchased from the buyer, if applicable?

With regard to the Directory of Federal Real Property administered by the Real Property and Materiel Policy Directorate of the Treasury Board Secretariat: for all properties located in Kingston and the Islands, (a) broken down by custodian and property title, what is the value of these properties on the financial records of the department, agency or Crown corporation responsible; (b) broken down by custodian and property title, how many properties have currently been declared surplus, and how did these properties appear on the financial records of the department, agency or Crown corporation responsible (i) prior to having been declared surplus, (ii) after having been declared surplus; (c) broken down by custodian, property title and sale price, how many properties have been sold prior to having been declared surplus since 2006, and what was the value according to the financial records of the department, agency or Crown corporation responsible (i) prior to the sale, (ii) for each year from 2006 to 2014; (d) broken down by custodian, property title and sale price, how many properties have been sold after being declared surplus since 2006, and what was the value according to the financial records of the department, agency or Crown corporation responsible (i) prior to the sale, (ii) for each year from 2006 to 2014; and (e) broken down by custodian, property title and sale price, how many properties have been sold without having been declared surplus since 2006, and what was the value according to the financial records of the department, agency or Crown corporation responsible (i) prior to the sale, (ii) for each year from 2006 to 2014?

With regard to the recent sale of crown land owned by Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), in the amount of 1,554.48 square meters, located on Frontenac Institute in Kingston, Ontario: (a) who is the purchaser; (b) what is the purchase price; (c) what is the closing date of the transaction; (d) what were all the measures taken to respect the Commissioner’s Directive for Real Property for CSC, in particular the statement, under Principles, that “acquisition and disposal of real property assets will be done in a fair and open manner, which shall include public consultation”; (e) what was the first date of any communications regarding the sale of this land between the government and the purchaser; (f) what was the first date of any communications regarding the sale of this land between the government and parties who expressed interest but ultimately did not purchase the land; (g) who signed the agreement; (h) under what authority; (i) on what date; and (j) what was the first date of any communications regarding the sale of this land between the government and parties other than those in (e) and (f)?

With regard to the recent sale of crown land owned by Correctional Service of Canada, in the amount of 1,554.48 square meters, located on Frontenac Institute in Kingston, Ontario: (a) who is the purchaser; (b) what is the purchase price; (c) what is the closing date of the transaction; (d) what were all of the measures taken to respect the Commissioner’s Directive for Real Property for Correctional Service Canada, in particular the statement, under Principles, that “acquisition and disposal of real property assets will be done in a fair and open manner, which shall include public consultation”; (e) what was the first date of any communications regarding the sale of this land between the government and the purchaser; (f) what was the first date of any communications regarding the sale of this land between the government and parties who expressed interest but ultimately did not purchase the land; and (g) what was the first date of any communications regarding the sale of this land between the government and parties other than those in (e) and (f)?

With regard to Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s real property: (a) what are these assets and their current use, broken down by (i) province, (ii) municipality, (iii) complete address; (b) which ones were sold or transferred by the department over the past five years, broken down by (i) year, (ii) province, (iii) municipality, (iv) complete address; (c) to whom and for how much were the assets referred to in (b) sold or transferred; and (d) to whom is the department planning to sell or transfer in the next five years, broken down by (i) year, (ii) province, (iii) municipality, (iv) complete address?

With regard to the purchase, sale and renovation of diplomatic properties by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development: (a) how many properties have been purchased in each of the last ten fiscal years; (b) how many properties have been sold in each of the last ten fiscal years; (c) what were the locations and prices of all properties valued over $250 000 purchased in each of the last ten fiscal years; (d) what were the locations and prices of all properties valued over $250 000 sold in each of the last ten fiscal years; (e) are property purchases or sales above a certain value subject to ministerial approval, and if so, what is the threshold; (f) for each of the properties in (c) and (d), what were (i) their respective cost at the time of purchase, (ii) the year in which they were purchased; (g) what proportion of properties are rented by the government and what is the average value of all rented properties; (h) what proportion of properties are owned by the government and what is the average value of all owned properties; and (i) how much has been spent on property renovations in each of the last ten years?

With regard to the government’s pledge to end the use of highly enriched uranium (HEU) to produce medical isotopes by 2016: (a) what is the progress of producing medical isotopes without HEU; (b) what is the cost and plan for decommissioning the National Research University reactor at Chalk River and what is the management plan for decommissioning wastes; (c) how much money will the government save through the privatization of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL); (d) does the government have a plan if it does not meet its 2016 pledge to stop using HEU to produce medical isotopes; (e) how will the government handle cost runs related to the short, medium and long term management of nuclear wastes?

With regard to the Department of National Defence Jericho property in Vancouver, British Columbia, which has been declared surplus and identified as a “strategic disposal”: (a) when will the property be transferred to Canada Lands for disposal; (b) what are the processes, stages, and time frames for disposal; (c) what consultations will be conducted, including with the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver community, First Nations (including the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations), and the general public; (d) what consultations have already taken place; and (e) are the lands of the former Kitsilano Coast Guard base implicated in the sale of the Jericho Lands and, if so, how?

With regard to Natural Resources Canada: (a) since January 1, 2001, how many geological specimens from its collections have been (i) discarded, (ii) deaccessioned, (iii) deacquired, (iv) disposed of; (b) were the specimens identified in (a) catalogued; (c) if the answer in (b) is affirmative, have the catalogue records been retained; (d) what are, or were, the 100 oldest specimens, calculated by date of collection, which were (i) discarded, (ii) deaccessioned, (iii) deacquired, (iv) disposed of; (e) were any specimens which were discarded, deaccessioned, deacquired, or disposed of offered to any other institutions in Canada or elsewhere, specifying the institutions; (f) how was the discarding or disposition of any discarded or disposed specimens carried out; and (g) were any of the samples identified in (a) either collected or owned by, or did they otherwise have a provenance which involved the activities of, (i) Sir William Logan, (ii) Albert Peter Low, (iii) George Mercer Dawson, (iv) Joseph Burr Tyrrell, (v) Arthur P. Coleman, (vi) Louis Babel, (vii) Robert Bell, (viii) Henry Youle Hind, (ix) James Richardson, (x) James Patrick Howley, (xi) Thomas Hunt, (xii) John Macoun, (xiii) James White, (xiv) Andrew Bell, (xv) Joseph Whiteaves, (xvi) Alexander Burgess, (xvii) William James Topley, (xviii) Joseph-Clovis-Kemner Laflamme?

With regard to the government’s sale of assets over $1,000 after 2007: (a) what were the assets sold, specifying (i) the asset sale price, (ii) the name of the purchaser, (iii) whether multiple bids were received, (iv) what amount the asset was purchased for by the government, (v) the reason for the sale; (b) was a third party used for the sale and, if so, (i) what is the name of the third party, (ii) was this contract tendered or not; (c) in the case where a third party was used, how much was the third party paid for their services; (d) for the government’s sale of stocks, (i) how much of the stock was sold, (ii) how much does the government still hold; (e) for sale of privately held companies in which the government held a position, (i) does the government still hold a position in the company, (ii) did the government have a market assessment done before the sale and, if so, by whom, (iii) what was the difference in the amount the government projected from the sale and the actual amount received; (f) how much income did the asset bring in in the year prior to its sale; and (g) how much was spent marketing the sale of each asset?

With respect to the interim Canadian Wheat Board (CWB): (a) what is the salary range afforded to the executive management of the interim CWB; (b) what information does the government possess as to the bonuses, benefits, fees, and other forms of compensation are the members of the executive management receiving; (c) what information does the government possess as to the bonuses, benefits, fees, and other forms of compensation will the members of the executive management receive upon the transfer of the interim CWB to new ownership; and (d) what commitments have been made regarding bonuses, benefits, fees, and other forms of compensation for the members of executive management after the transfer of the interim CWB to new ownership?

With regard to the sale of the CANDU Reactor Division of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) to SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. during June 2011: (a) what was the government’s economic rationale and business case in support of this sale; (b) what government documents contained, outlined, or presented this economic rationale and business case; (c) what were the full titles of the documents in (b); (d) by whom were the documents in (b) prepared; (e) on what dates were the documents in (b) prepared; (f) on what dates were the documents in (b) presented to the Minister of Natural Resources; (g) what documents did SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. provide the government in support of this sale; (h) what were the full titles of the documents in (g); (i) by whom were the documents in (g) prepared; (j) who submitted the documents in (g) to the government; (k) on what dates were the documents in (g) prepared; (l) on what dates were the documents in (g) presented to the Minister of Natural Resources; and (m) what due diligence was applied by the government in order to verify the factual content of the documents in (g)?

With regard to Shared Services Canada: (a) what was the intention underlying the privatization of email services; and (b) what are the consequences of this privatization with respect to (i) public service jobs, (ii) the possible loss of these jobs, (iii) the reliability of email services for shared services employees, (iv) the confidentiality and security of these email services, (v) the savings or losses from these changes to email services?

With regard to the sale of the government's stake in General Motors (GM) common stock, announced in April 2015: (a) which counter-parties were contacted and asked to submit bids, broken down by (i) name of counter-party, (ii) date that they were contacted by the government or its designate, (iii) date of submission of firm, tradable bids to the government; (b) how was the sales price, as reported publicly, determined and calculated; (c) what observed prices, such as close prices or Volume Weighted Average Prices, in the market, were used to calculate the sales price; (d) were any other fees or commissions charged; (e) what conditions were imposed on the winning counter-party, Goldman Sachs; (f) when was Goldman Sachs made aware of the government's intention to sell GM stock; (g) when was Goldman Sachs made aware of the number of shares available for sale; (h) what conditions were imposed on Goldman Sachs’ ability to hedge its purchase of GM stock; (i) was Goldman Sachs permitted to sell GM stock or other auto sector stocks as a hedge of its trade with the government on (i) Wednesday, April 1, 2015, (ii) Thursday, April 2, 2015, (iii) Monday, April 6, 2015; (j) what limits on internal communications within Goldman Sachs were promised by Goldman Sachs to the government or its designate; and (k) what other measures were taken to minimize the transaction costs and market impact of the government’s sale of GM shares?

With regard to the government and the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB): (a) the 2011-12 Annual Report states that expenses were “offset by $177.3 million in government reimbursements”, what is meant by this statement; (b) what expenses were the reimbursements made for; (c) what government reimbursements were made in fiscal years 2012-2013 and 2013-2014; (d) what total government revenues were paid to the CWB in each fiscal year and crop year between 2011 and 2014; (e) what was the objective of these government revenues; (f) on which dates and in which amounts were the $349 million, pledged by the Minister of Agriculture in June 2012, transferred to the CWB; (g) what studies were conducted by the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food regarding the future of the CWB; (h) what public and private consultations were undertaken regarding the privatization of the CWB in 2012, 2013, and 2014, (i) who were those consultations with, (ii) on what dates; (i) what is the total outstanding amount owed to the government for credit sales undertaken by the CWB; (j) what foreign customers have outstanding credit sales; (k) what is the status of interest owed on outstanding credit sales; and (l) which body or government agency will receive the interest paid on credit sales?

With regard to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), as of April 15, 2015: (a) has the Governor in Council given its approval for the new Maison de Radio-Canada building project in Montreal, a public-private partnership (PPP) that must be approved by the Governor in Council in accordance with section 48(2) of the Broadcasting Act and from which real property transactions may arise; (b) if the answer to (a) is negative, what steps must be taken for the Governor in Council to give its approval; (c) what has been the CBC's comparative cost-benefit analysis for each aspect of this project, namely (i) design, (ii) financing, (iii) construction, (iv) rental, (v) maintenance, (vi) management; (d) what are the details of the documents CBC has submitted in support of its PPP to the (i) Minister of Canadian Heritage, (ii) Treasury Board Secretariat, (iii) Cabinet; (e) what has been the comparative cost-benefit analysis carried out by any governmental authority for each aspect of this project, namely (i) design, (ii) financing, (iii) construction, (iv) rental, (v) maintenance, (vi) management; (f) has the Canada Lands Corporation (CLC) been involved in this transaction and, if so, what has been the CLC's comparative cost-benefit analysis, for each aspect of this project, namely (i) design, (ii) financing, (iii) construction, (iv) rental, (v) maintenance, (vi) management; (g) for each negative answer in (f), what were the reasons given by the government for not involving the CLC; (h) which experts and professional associations did the CBC consult with respect to this real property transaction; (i) what are the maintenance costs for the Maison de Radio-Canada in Montreal for the year 2014-2015, broken down by (i) mortgage, (ii) property taxes, (iii) maintenance, (iv) renovations; (j) what is the CBC’s inventory of photo archives, broken down by city; (k) what is the total value of the CBC’s photo archives; (l) what is the CBC’s inventory of audio archives, broken down by city; (m) what is the total value of the CBC’s audio archives; (n) what is the CBC’s inventory of video archives, broken down by city; (o) what is the total value of the CBC’s video archives; (p) what is the inventory of paper-based archives (books, music scores, etc.) held by the CBC, broken down by city; (q) what is the total value of the CBC’s paper-based archives (books, musical scores, etc.); (r) what is the CBC’s inventory of technical equipment, broken down by city; (s) what is the total value of the CBC’s technical equipment; (t) who are the bidders who acquired CBC assets since January 1, 2008, broken down by (i) year, (ii) type of asset purchased, (iii) transaction value?