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 Canada Revenue Agency and media reports that it paid out a bogus refund claim worth $5 million: (a) in each of the last five years, how many bogus or blatantly fake claims have been paid out that were worth (i) over $100,000 but less than $500,000, (ii) over $500,000 but less than $1 million, (iii) over $1 million; and (b) for each bogus or fake claim over $1 million, what was the approximate amount paid out?