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

With regard to the distribution of fuel charge proceeds to small and medium-sized businesses, through the Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses, as authorized under section 165 of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act and section 127.421 of the Income Tax Act: (a) what is the total amount distributed to small and medium-sized businesses under the Canada Carbon Rebate since the program’s inception, broken down by (i) province or territory, (ii) year, (iii) industry sector (e.g., manufacturing, retail, hospitality), (iv) type of payment or credit provided; (b) for each fiscal year since the inception of the program, what (i) amount was allocated by the government to be returned to small and medium-sized businesses through the Canada Carbon Rebate, (ii) amount was ultimately distributed, (iii) is the explanation for any discrepancies between the amounts allocated and the amounts distributed; and (c) what explains the $108 million difference between the $3.3 billion intended to be returned to businesses based on net fuel charge proceeds for the 2019–20 to 2023–24 years, as reported in the 2024 Public Accounts (Volume I, page 16) and the $3.192 billion attributed to the Canada Revenue Agency for this same purpose, as reported in the Main Estimates?

With regard to the Apprenticeship Service Employer Grant and other federal apprenticeship grant programs, since 2020, broken down by year and by province: (a) what are the details of (i) how many employers received funding under these programs, (ii) the total number and value of grants issued in each year, including the number of grants issued at the base amount of $5,000 per first-year apprentice and the number issued at the enhanced amount of $10,000 for apprentices from under-represented groups; (b) what is the breakdown of grants issued for apprentices who were (i) Canadian citizens, (ii) permanent residents, (iii) protected persons, (iv) temporary foreign workers; (c) how many employers received funding in excess of two first-year apprentices in a fiscal year and under what authorities or exemptions was such funding permitted; (d) how many grant recipients were verified as meeting the eligibility requirement of being small or medium-sized employers with 499 or fewer paid employees; (e) what is the breakdown of grants by eligible Red Seal trade; (f) how many funded employers were audited for compliance with program eligibility requirements, including verification of net new hire status and registered apprenticeship enrollment; (g) what are the details of how many individual apprentices were registered in more than one eligible Red Seal trade for which the same employer received funding under the Apprenticeship Service Employer Grant or other federal apprenticeship grant programs; (h) how many instances of non-compliance or potentially fraudulent claims were detected; and (i) how many cases identified in (h) involved apprentices who were (i) Canadian citizens, (ii) permanent residents, (iii) protected persons, (iv) temporary foreign workers?

With regard to grant and contribution programs administered by the Department of Industry since 2015: (a) what are the details of all such programs that provide funding to small and medium-sized enterprises, including, for each, (i) the program name, (ii) the total funding envelope, (iii) the fiscal years during which the program was active; (b) for each fiscal year since 2015-16, what is the total value of grants and contributions disbursed to small and medium-sized enterprises under each program in (a); (c) for each fiscal year since 2015-16, how many small and medium-sized enterprises received grants and contributions under each program in (a); (d) what criteria are used by the department to define “small” and “medium-sized” enterprises for the purposes of these programs; and (e) what proportion of the department’s total grant and contribution funding was disbursed to small and medium-sized enterprises in each fiscal year since 2015-16?

With regard to Pacific Economic Development Canada and Small Business British Columbia: (a) is Pacific Economic Development Canada aware of the appointment of any of its employees to the employee Small Business British Columbia board of directors (board); (b) if the answer to (a) is affirmative, (i) what was the name of the employee, (ii) what was their position at both Pacific Economic Development Canada and Small Business British Columbia, (iii) what was the purpose of their appointment to the Small Business British Columbia board, (iv) what was the length of their appointment to the board, (v) what financial information did the employee relay to Pacific Economic Development Canada regarding the financial health and strategies of Small Business British Columbia; (c) since January 1, 2016, how much money, broken down by (i) full date, (ii) contract number, (iii) amount per contract, has Pacific Economic Development Canada awarded Small Business British Columbia; (d) what were the results, broken down by contract, of Pacific Economic Development Canada's financial performance review in considering Small Business British Columbia applications for funding; (e) what questions must applicants to Pacific Economic Development Canada funding programs answer in their applications; (f) broken down by question in (e), what metrics does Pacific Economic Development Canada use in considering the merit of each question; (g) what were the reasons for the suspension of payments of the latest $2.7 million in funding awarded to Small Business British Columbia by Pacific Economic Development Canada; (h) in considering the application for funding from Small Business British Columbia in (g), what were the findings of Pacific Economic Development Canada regarding Small Business British Columbia's financial health and strategies; and (i) was Pacific Economic Development Canada aware of Small Business British Columbia's financial circumstances that led them to declare bankruptcy shortly after being approved for the latest $2.7 million in funding?

With regard to Canadian counter tariffs: (a) as of October 1, 2025, how much money was collected through the Canadian counter tariffs that came into effect on March 4, 2025; (b) how much of the money collected came from small businesses; and (c) how much of the money collected through these counter tariffs has been allocated to small business programs, in total and broken down by program?

With regard to the Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses: (a) broken down by year since the rebate's inception, on average, how much funding did businesses receive per employee, broken down into the following ranges (i) 1 to 50, (ii) 51 to 100, (iii) 101 to 150, (iv) 151 to 200, (v) over 200 employees; and (b) what is the total amount of funding remaining to be distributed under this program?

With regard to Canadian counter tariffs: (a) how much money has been collected through the Canadian counter tariffs that came into effect on March 4, 2025; (b) how much of the money collected has come from small businesses; and (c) how much of the money collected through these counter tariffs has been allocated to small business programs in total and broken down by program?