No. 177
:
Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 1246 to 1252.
[Text]
Question No. 1246—Mr. Michael Kram:
With regard to the government’s rejection of Sunwing Airlines’ application to hire 63 pilots, as testified by Sunwing Airlines’ president, Len Corrado, at the meeting of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, on January 12, 2023: (a) what are the details of all discussions or meetings that took place regarding this application; (b) what departments, agencies, offices and individuals were involved in the review and rejection of this application; and (c) what supporting documents exist regarding this application, including, but not limited to, emails, texts, briefing notes, memos and reports, and what are the details of such documents?
Mr. Irek Kusmierczyk (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, due to privacy considerations, Employment and Social Development Canada, or ESDC, does not disclose information regarding specific cases to anyone other than the employer and its authorized third parties.
Every quarter, the temporary foreign worker program publishes the list of employers that were issued a positive or negative labour market impact assessment, or LMIA, decision through Open Government. Lists of employers are currently available from 2014 to Q3 of 2022, up to the end of September, at the following links: https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/90fed587-1364-4f33-a9ee-208181dc0b97 and https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/f82f66f2-a22b-4511-bccf-e1d74db39ae5.
New quarterly data is typically published within three months following the completion of the final month of the quarter. Q4 of 2022, from October to December, is tentatively scheduled to be published by the end of March 2023.
Question No. 1247—Mr. Michael Kram:
With regard to the government’s rejection of Sunwing Airlines’ application to hire pilots, as testified by Sunwing Airlines’ president, Len Corrado, at the meeting of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, on January 12, 2023: why did the government reject the application?
Mr. Irek Kusmierczyk (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, due to privacy considerations, Employment and Social Development Canada, or ESDC, does not disclose information regarding specific cases to anyone other than the employer and its authorized third parties.
Every quarter, the temporary foreign worker program publishes the list of employers that were issued a positive or negative labour market impact assessment, or LMIA, decision through Open Government. Lists of employers are currently available from 2014 to Q3 of 2022, up to the end of September, at the following links: https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/90fed587-1364-4f33-a9ee-208181dc0b97 and https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/f82f66f2-a22b-4511-bccf-e1d74db39ae5.
New quarterly data is typically published within three months following the completion of the final month of the quarter. Q4 of 2022, from October to December, is tentatively scheduled to be published by the end of March 2023.
Question No. 1248—Mrs. Laila Goodridge:
With regard to the government's response to the harms caused by tobacco and since November 4, 2015: has the government joined or participated in legal action against any tobacco companies in relation to the harm caused by tobacco usage, and, if so, what are the details of each case, including the outcome?
Mrs. Élisabeth Brière (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada has not joined or participated in any legal action against any tobacco company in relation to the harm caused by tobacco usage since November 4, 2015.
Question No. 1249—Mrs. Laila Goodridge:
With regard to the government's response to the opioid crisis and since November 4, 2015: has the government joined or participated in any legal action against (i) Purdue Pharma, (ii) McKinsey & Company, (iii) any other pharmaceutical companies, in relation to how their activities may have contributed to the opioid crisis, and, if so, what are the details of each case, including the outcome?
Mrs. Élisabeth Brière (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, provincial and territorial governments, along with the Government of Canada, are part of the proposed class action commenced by British Columbia against 50 opioid manufacturers and distributors that allegedly acted inappropriately in the marketing and distribution of opioids. The defendant companies are listed in the attached addendum. One of those defendants was the Canadian entity of Purdue Pharma. In June 2022, British Columbia announced that it had reached a settlement with Purdue Pharma wherein Purdue agreed to pay $150 million for the Canadian governments’ claims. In December 2022, the B.C. court approved this Purdue settlement, as well as another out-of-court settlement negotiated by B.C. with the Roxane group of defendants. This legal action by British Columbia is ongoing as it relates to the remaining defendants, with multiple court hearings currently scheduled. British Columbia’s application to certify this proposed class action lawsuit in the B.C. Supreme Court is scheduled to be heard in the fall of 2023.
Provincial and territorial governments, along with the Government of Canada, are also part of the proposed class action commenced by British Columbia against McKinsey & Company, which allegedly acted inappropriately in the course of providing consulting services to opioid manufacturers and distributors. British Columbia commenced this proposed class action on behalf of all Canadian governments in December 2021. This legal action by British Columbia is still at a very early stage and is ongoing.
The list of defendants in British Columbia’s proposed class action is as follows: Sanis Health Inc., Shoppers Drug Mart Inc., McKesson Canada Corporation, Mylan Pharmaceuticals ULC, Sandoz Canada Inc., Apotex Inc., Apotex Pharmaceutical Holdings, Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada, Bristol Myers Squibb Company, Paladin Labs Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., Endo International PLC, Endo ventures Ltd., Ethypharm Inc., Janssen Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Pharmascience Inc., Joddes Limited, Pro Doc Limitee, Le Groupe Jean Coutu (PJC) Inc., Purdue Pharma Inc., Purdue Pharma L.P., The Purdue Frederick Company Inc., Purdue Frederick Inc., Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Hikma Labs Ink., Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC, Roxane Laboratories Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd. or Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltee., West-Ward Columbus Inc., Teva Canada Innovation G.P.- S.E.N.C., Teva Canada Limited, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Actavis Pharma Company, Valeant Canada LP or Valeant Canada S.E.C., Bausch Health Companies Inc., Imperial Distributors Canada Inc., Amerisourcebergen Canada Corporation, Kohl & Frisch Limited, Kohl & Frisch Distribution Inc., McKesson Corporation, Nu-Quest Distribution Inc., United Pharmacists Manitoba Inc., Procurity Inc., Procurity Pharmacy Services, Unipharm Wholesale Drugs, LPG Inventory Solutions and Normaco Inc.
Question No. 1250—Ms. Michelle Ferreri:
With regard to the tender put out by the government on or around June 30, 2022, for chairs for passport offices: what are the details of the resulting contract, including the (i) vendor, (ii) value, (iii) number of chairs purchased, and the price per unit, broken down by type of chair, (iv) date the chairs were delivered, including the passport or government offices they were delivered to, (v) number of bids received?
Mr. Irek Kusmierczyk (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, Employment and Social Development Canada, or ESDC, put out a tender around June 30, 2022, for chairs for passport offices. The details of the contract are as follows. With regard to part (i), the vendor is Ameublement Bureau Intérieur. With regard to part (ii), the contract value is $87,740. With regard to part (iii), a total of 801 chairs were purchased, of which 535 are without armrests and 266 are with armrests. With regard to part (iv), a total of 511 chairs were delivered to our ESDC warehouse in Montreal on July 15, 2022. A total of 290 chairs were delivered to the Passport Canada office in Ville Saint-Laurent on July 14, 2022. With regard to part (v), a total of two tenders were received.
Question No. 1251—Mr. Adam Chambers:
With regard to the government's response to Order Paper question Q-908 and the statement that approximately $320 million had been spent on integrity activities associated with various COVID-19 relief programs, as of March 31, 2022, and that approximately $556 million is estimated to be spent from fiscal year 2022-23 through 2025-26 on integrity activities associated with various COVID-19 relief programs: what is the return on investment, including the costs of the integrity activities, compared to the revenue collected as a result of such integrity activities, broken down by the each of the initiatives and costs listed in part (c) of the government's response to Order Paper question Q-908?
Hon. Diane Lebouthillier (Minister of National Revenue, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, with respect to the above-noted question, what follows is the response from the Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA, as of February 13, 2023, the date of the question.
Regarding anticipated revenue collections, the CRA uses accrual accounting to report on administered activities. The CRA departmental financial accounting system for administered activities, the revenue ledger, collects information on amounts of benefits paid. Such amounts may be subject to redetermination due to integrity activities such as compliance reviews, adjustments and cancellations. Receipts and refund information are recorded in processing systems and cannot be traced back to specific integrity activities related to COVID-19 relief programs in the CRA revenue ledger.
At this time, the CRA is unable to report on the recoveries in relation to the emergency benefits administered by the CRA, as it is developing its new reporting solution.
For these reasons, the CRA is unable to respond in the manner requested with respect to return on investment.
Question No. 1252—Mr. Dan Albas:
With regard to the government's reaction to reports that U.S. customs and border officials are transporting migrants from Plattsburg, in New York State, to the Canadian border at Roxham Road: (a) when did the Canada Border Services Agency first become aware of these reports; (b) how long does the government estimate that this has been happening; (c) has the government taken any action to stop this from happening, and, if so, what are the details of the action, including (i) the date, (ii) who took the action, (iii) what specific action was taken; (d) since January 1, 2021, broken down by month, how many people crossed the border into Canada at Roxham Road; and (e) does the government have any estimates on the percentage of migrants who have crossed at Roxham Road, after receiving a ride to the border from a U.S. customs or border official?
Ms. Pam Damoff (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), the Canada Border Services Agency, or CBSA, first became aware of bus tickets being distributed to asylum seekers on February 6, 2023, when they were reported in the media. The CBSA became aware of reports from the media about U.S. customs and border officials transporting migrants from Plattsburg to Roxham Road on February 7, 2023, when media asked the CBSA to comment on it.
With regard to part (b), the CBSA is unable to provide an estimate regarding how long this has been happening.
With regard to part (c), out of respect for the law and for the personal safety of individuals, we encourage anyone entering Canada to do so at an official port of entry. We continue to work closely with Canadian and U.S. partners to ensure the lawful, safe and humane treatment of asylum seekers while maintaining the security of our borders. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CPB, confirmed that it has opened an investigation into the potential involvement of U.S. officials in the movement of individuals to Roxham Road.
With regard to part (d), CBSA systems do not extract data by specific locations. However, in the province of Quebec, the vast majority of people enter Quebec through Roxham Road.
With regard to part (e), the CBSA does not have this information. CBP confirmed that it has opened an investigation into the potential involvement of U.S. officials in the movement of individuals to Roxham Road.
:
Mr. Speaker, if the government's response to Questions Nos. 1245 and 1253 could be made orders for returns, these returns would be tabled immediately.
[Translation]
Some hon. members: Agreed.
[Text]
Question No. 1245—Ms. Michelle Rempel Garner:
With regard to Public Services and Procurement Canada and the Integrity Regime, since November 4, 2015: (a) what are the details of any memorandums, briefing notes, or other similar type of documents which discussed the status of McKinsey & Company’s acceptability to receive contracts under the Integrity Regime, including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) sender, (iii) recipient, (iv) type of document, (v) title, (vi) file number; (b) does the government consider McKinsey & Company to have met the Integrity Regime’s definition of an ethical supplier; (c) has any government official ever raised the issue of McKinsey’s eligibility under the Integrity Regime, and, if so, what are the details of each instance, including (i) the date, (ii) who raised the issue, (iii) who the issue was raised with, (iv) the concerns raised, (v) the reason the concerns were dismissed; and (d) has the registrar received notification from McKinsey & Company per the Ineligibility and Suspension Policy of any criminal charges or convictions or other relevant circumstances with respect to any of their work abroad, and, if so, on what dates?
(Return tabled)
Question No. 1253—Mr. Clifford Small:
With regard to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans: (a) what is the amount of northern cod that was caught and reported as bycatch, broken down by year for each of the last three years; (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by each country that is a member of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization; and (c) why were the northern cod and northern shrimp trawl surveys cancelled for 2023, and who made that decision?
(Return tabled)
[English]
:
Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all remaining questions be allowed to stand.
[Translation]
Some hon. members: Agreed.