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Wednesday, September 17, 2025 (No. 23)

Questions

Those questions not appearing in the list have been answered, withdrawn or made into orders for return.

Q-284² — June 19, 2025 — — With regard to case number 41231, English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al., as of June 17, 2025: (a) how many hours have public servants dedicated to this legal challenge; (b) how much money has the government spent on the challenge; (c) what resources has the government employed with respect to the challenge and how much money has been allocated to each of these resources; and (d) what is the total amount the government has incurred in legal costs?

Q-285² — June 19, 2025 — — With regard to the challenge to Quebec’s Act respecting the laicity of the State, broken down by case in which the government was involved: (a) how many hours have public servants devoted to each legal challenge; (b) how much money has the government spent on each challenge; (c) what resources has the government employed with respect to each challenge and how much money has been allocated to each of these resources; and (d) what was the total amount of legal expenses incurred by the government (i) broken down by challenge, (ii) for all challenges?

Q-286² — June 19, 2025 — — With regard to the Black Class Action Lawsuit (Nicholas Marcus Thompson et al. v. His Majesty the King (T-1458-20)), broken down by department: (a) what is the total amount spent to date by the government on this lawsuit; and (b) what is the total amount paid to Fasken, the law firm representing the Crown in this case?

Q-287² — June 19, 2025 — — With regard to the continuing designation of the United States of America as a safe third country under section 102 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act: (a) how many reports have been produced to date pursuant to the directives for ensuring a continuing review of factors set out in subsection 102(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act with respect to countries designated under paragraph 102(1)(a) of that Act; (b) for each such report, what is the (i) date of production, (ii) authoring department or agency, (iii) title or identifying reference number, (iv) date the report was provided to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship or any other Minister; (c) has the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship or any other Minister ever made a determination that the United States of America may no longer meet one or more of the conditions required under subsection 102(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, and, if so, when and what action, if any, was taken; (d) have any Charter compliance assessments, legal risk analyses, or litigation-driven reviews concluded that the United States of America may not meet the requirements of paragraph 102(2)(a), (b), or (c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act since 2015, and, if so, what were the conclusions and who received them; (e) when is the next review of the United States of America's safe third country designation scheduled to take place, and what are the timelines and procedures for its completion; (f) were any of these reports shared with the United States of America government or its agencies, and, if so, which ones and on what dates; and (g) will the government table in the House unredacted copies or summaries of all reports produced to date under these directives?

Q-288² — June 19, 2025 — — With regard to the planned budgetary reductions for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency: (a) is Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada moving forward with a Deficit Reduction Action Plan in 2024 and, if so, what it the targeted budget reduction for the Department in percentage and actual dollars broken down by (i) Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada region, (ii) province or territory; (b) what specific programs or services within Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada are projected to experience reductions in funding as part of the Deficit Reduction Action Plan in 2024–25, 2025–26, and 2026–27, broken down by (i) Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada region, (ii) province or territory, (iii) full-time employee reduction; (c) how will the anticipated Deficit Reduction Action Plan affect processing times for applicants, broken down by each immigration stream, including the processing of study permits, work visas and travel visas; (d) what measures will Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada implement to ensure the Deficit Reduction Action Plan does not adversely impact service delivery standards for applicants and stakeholders, including settlement organizations; (e) what workforce adjustments or layoffs, if any, are planned within Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to accommodate the Deficit Reduction Action Plan, and what impacts are anticipated on staffing levels or full-time employees and employee workloads, broken down by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada region; (f) how does Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada plan to engage with and communicate these changes to key stakeholders, including provinces, territories, settlement agencies and impacted applicants; (g) how much funding has been refocused away from the Canada Border Services Agency and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in the federal government’s refocused spending initiative, broken down by year in these program areas, (i) border security and enforcement, (ii) customs and trade facilitation, (iii) traveller screening, (iv) citizenship and passport services, (v) refugee resettlement; and (h) what is funding that has been refocused away from Canada Border Services Agency and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in the federal government’s refocused spending initiative being redirected toward, broken down by year?

Q-289² — June 19, 2025 — — With regard to measures taken by the government to prevent the import of alcohol and drugs into Nunavut, broken down by community and by fiscal year since 2020-21: (a) what specific measures are in place to ensure that mail and other packages entering Nunavut via Canada Post do not contain alcohol or drugs; (b) if screening facilities are used for this purpose, where are the screening facilities located; and (c) what percentage of mail and packages was checked for alcohol and drugs, in total and broken down by processing location and by method used to check the packages (scanning, manual search, etc.)?

Q-290² — June 19, 2025 — — With regard to the Hamlet Food Voucher Program funded through the Inuit Child First Initiative and delivered by Indigenous Services Canada: (a) broken down by hamlet and fiscal year since 2019, what is (i) the number of Inuit children or families served by the program, (ii) total amount of funding allocated to the program; and (b) what indicators does Indigenous Services Canada use to demonstrate that the health care needs of Inuit children will either decrease or increase in the next three fiscal years?

Q-291² — June 19, 2025 — — With regard to the consultation process in the government's preparation of Bill C-5, An Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Building Canada Act: (a) which Indigenous rights holders were consulted about Bill C-5 prior to it being introduced in the House of Commons; (b) how much time were these rights holders provided to share their concerns about Bill C-5 with the government; (c) did the ministers and staff responsible for the preparation of this bill address any concerns raised by Indigenous rights holders in correspondence or meetings held with them prior to Bill C-5 being introduced in the House of Commons; and (d) what steps did the government take to ensure Bill C-5 obtained the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous rights holders to ensure it was compliant with (i) An Act respecting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, (ii) Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, including subsection 35(3)?

Q-292² — June 19, 2025 — — With regard to the government’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Fund, broken down by fiscal year since the program was initiated: (a) how much of the total funding allocated to this fund has been committed to date; (b) which organizations have applied for this funding and were refused; (c) which funding recipients received a reduction in funding year-over-year; and (d) what were the evaluation criteria used by the government to determine which (i) organizations received funding, (ii) previous funding recipients lost funding?

Q-293² — June 19, 2025 — — With regard to the consultative process for Bill C-2, An Act respecting certain measures relating to the security of the border between Canada and the United States and respecting other related security measures: (a) what meetings or correspondence did the ministers and staff responsible for the preparation of Bill C-2 undertake with (i) women and gender equality organizations, (ii) migrant and refugee rights organizations; (b) did the government seek a legal opinion from the Privacy Commissioner concerning the legal validity of Bill C-2, prior to introducing it in the House of Commons; and (c) what steps did the government take to ensure that Bill C-2 was compliant with the 1951 Refugee Convention, prior to introducing it in the House of Commons?

Q-294² — June 19, 2025 — — With regard to requests made by First Nations in Manitoba to the government over the past five calendar years: (a) which First Nations have made requests to Indigenous Services Canada for fire prevention and fire fighting resources, including, funding for (i) personnel, (ii) training, (iii) direct training, (iv) protective gear, (v) water pumps, (vi) hoses, (vii) vehicles, (viii) hand tools and portable fire suppression or controlled-burn equipment; (b) which of the requests in (a)(i) to (a)(viii) were fulfilled; (c) for the requests fulfilled, how long did Indigenous Services Canada take to (i) answer the request, (ii) deliver the resources; and (d) how much funding has been allocated by Indigenous Services Canada for the provision of these resources?

Q-295² — September 11, 2025 — — With regard to the program evaluation of the College and Community Innovation Program and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s Community and College Social Innovation Fund, launched in May 2024: (a) what is the current status of this evaluation; (b) when will the evaluation be completed; (c) where and when will the results of the evaluation be published and made available to the public; and (d) if the results are not being made available to the public, (i) why not, (ii) who made the decision to keep them secret?

Q-296² — September 11, 2025 — — With regard to expenditures incurred by the government related to relocation or moving expenses for staff members of the Office of the Prime Minister, since March 14, 2025: (a) how many staff members had relocation or moving expenses which were covered by the government; and (b) what is the total value of such expenditures to date?

Q-297² — September 11, 2025 — — With regard to the Canadian Coast Guard and the Canadian Armed Forces: what was the procedure and what criteria led the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre - Halifax to suspend the search on August 7, 2025, for the two people from Havre-Saint-Pierre who went missing at sea on August 5, 2025?

Q-298² — September 15, 2025 — — With regard to healthcare services received by individuals incarcerated with Correctional Service Canada: (a) what is, broken down by province and territory, the median and average wait time between (i) receiving a referral from a general practitioner or another medical professional and a consultation with a specialist, (ii) receiving a consultation with a specialist and receiving treatment; and (b) what is the breakdown by year of temporary absence permits issued for medical purposes, for each of the last five years, and what are the details of these permits, including the (i) number of permits issued at each correctional institution, (ii) number of visits to each medical facility, (iii) the reason, purpose or type of treatment, associated with the visits?

Q-299² — September 15, 2025 — — With regard to grants or contributions provided by the National Research Council to designated educational institutions, since November 4, 2015: what are the details of each grant and contribution agreement, including, for each, the (i) program name under which the funding was distributed, (ii) recipient, (iii) date, (iv) description, (v) value, (vi) negotiated percentage and dollar-value that was earmarked for indirect costs (i.e. administrative costs) as part of the agreement?

Q-300² — September 15, 2025 — — With regard to government involvement with the Heritage Foundation, and its decision to invite president Kevin Roberts to speak at the September 2025 Cabinet Planning Forum in the Greater Toronto Area: (a) who (i) made, (ii) sent, the invitation; (b) when was the invitation sent; (c) did the government incur any expenses related to Mr. Roberts' travel to the forum, including any cancellation charges or charges for unused rooms, and, if so, what is the (i) total amount, (ii) itemized breakdown, of all such charges; (d) did the government agree to, or offer any, financial remuneration or payment to Mr. Roberts in relation to the forum, and, if so, how much was offered and for what services; (e) did the government offer to, or agree to, cover any travel, accommodation or meal expenses related to Mr. Roberts' travel to the forum, and, if so, what are the details of such offers or agreements, including what was covered, and any limits or restrictions (i.e. hotel room maximum, first class flight, etc.); and (f) has the Office of the Prime Minister or the Privy Council Office issued any contracts to Mr. Roberts or the Heritage Foundation, since January 1, 2025, and, if so, what are the details of each contract, including the (i) amount or value, (ii) vendor, (iii) date, (iv) description of the goods or services provided, (v) manner in which the contract was awarded (sole-sourced or competitive bid)?

Q-301² — September 15, 2025 — — With regard to correctional facilities under the administration of the Correctional Service of Canada: (a) how many inmates in these facilities did not possess Canadian citizenship, broken down by year, from January 1, 2016, to present; (b) what was the (i) annual cost, (ii) cost per inmate, borne by the institutions for housing inmates who are not Canadian citizens; and (c) what is the current breakdown of non-Canadian inmates by (i) institution, (ii) type of criminal offense, (iii) security level, (iv) country of citizenship?

Q-302² — September 15, 2025 — — With regard to the Canada Border Services Agency, broken down by year since January 1, 2018, including the current year to date: (a) how many commercial (i) trains, (ii) train cars, crossed into Canada, in total, and broken down by point of entry for each year; (b) how many of the (i) trains, (ii) train cars, in (a) were physically inspected by the Canada Border Services Agency; (c) how many of the inspected (i) trains, (ii) train cars, contained illegal items; and (d) what is the breakdown of illegal items seized from train cars, including the description and the volume of each item seized?

Q-303² — September 15, 2025 — — With regard to government financing or financial guarantees for Lion Electric: (a) what are the details of the Strategic Innovation Fund's August 19, 2021 agreement with Lion Electric, for a loan relating to the construction of the Lion Campus, including (i) the total value of the loan provided to Lion, (ii) the interest rate terms, including how much interest has been paid to date on said loan, (iii) if no interest was paid on the loan, as part of the agreement, why did the government deem it necessary to provide a zero-interest loan to Lion, (iv) which circumstances would be grounds for the government to forgive the loan, (v) the total amount of the loan's principle that has been repaid to date, (vi) whether any portion of the loan has been waived, and, if so, what amount, (vii) the current principle amount of the loan that is still currently outstanding, (viii) whether the government is currently trying to recoup any outstanding funds from this loan, and, if so, what actions have been taken, (ix) whether the government conducted any financial feasibility or viability assessment prior to offering this agreement, and, if so, who conducted the study and when; and (b) what are the details of the guarantees or insurance provided by Export Development Canada to the National Bank of Canada with regard to the bank's financing offer in February 2023 to Lion Electric for a supplier credit facility, including (i) the amount of financing provided to Lion, (ii) the amount of financing insured by Export Development Canada, (iii) the amount collected in fees by Export Development Canada as part of the agreement with the National Bank of Canada, (iv) the amount paid out, to date, by Export Development Canada as part of this insurance, (v) whether the government conducted any financial feasibility or viability assessment of Lion, prior to offering this policy, and, if so, who conducted the study and when?

Q-304² — September 15, 2025 — — With regard to the comments on September 8, 2025, by the Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions) that "We hit rock bottom. It can't get much worse than it is now.": which ministers and government officials are responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency "hitting rock bottom" in 2025, and what disciplinary action, if any, has each faced for allowing this to happen?

Q-305² — September 15, 2025 — — With regard to the temporary public policy announced by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship on November 20, 2023, to reunite previously resettled Yazidis and other survivors of Daesh in Canada with their family members in northern Iraq, excluding any applications received before October 31, 2023: (a) how many applications have been received under this specific public policy since November 20, 2023, broken down by month and by the location of the processing office; (b) how many applications (i) have been accepted, (ii) have been rejected, (iii) have been withdrawn, (iv) have been deemed incomplete, (v) are still in process; (c) how many principal applicants and how many dependents are included in each of the categories listed in (b); (d) what is the average and median processing time for complete applications under this public policy, including those that were rejected or withdrawn; (e) what were the five most common grounds for rejection under this public policy; (f) how many times has the department used its discretion to waive documentation or admissibility requirements due to the applicant's circumstances under this public policy, and in what types of cases or contexts were these waivers applied; (g) how many applications under this policy have either been (i) voluntarily withdrawn by the applicant, (ii) closed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, (iii) abandoned by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; (h) for each case in (g)(i) to (g)(iii), what were the reasons or grounds cited by the department; (i) how many of the 400 allocated spots under the policy have been filled to date, and does Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada anticipate filling all 400 before the expiry date of December 31, 2026; and (j) has Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada communicated any eligibility criteria, quotas, internal directives, or guidance to visa officers or Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada staff related to prioritizing, triaging, or refusing certain types of applicants under this public policy, and, if so, what are those instructions?

Q-306² — September 15, 2025 — — With regard to all public opinion research and surveys conducted or commissioned by government departments or agencies, since January 1, 2024: (a) what are the details of each public opinion research or survey, including, for each, the (i) title or subject, (ii) purpose, (iii) date, (iv) vendor who conducted the research or survey, (v) contract value, (vi) methodology used, (vii) questions asked and the associated results or findings; (b) what were the total expenditures on public opinion research and surveys in (i) 2024, (ii) 2025 to date; and (c) of the surveys in (a), are the results publicly available, and, if so, what is the website link where each is located?

Q-307² — September 15, 2025 — — With regard to all public opinion research and surveys conducted or commissioned by the Privy Council Office since January 1, 2024: (a) what are the details of each public opinion research or survey, including, for each, the (i) title or subject, (ii) purpose, (iii) date, (iv) vendor who conducted the research or survey, (v) contract value, (vi) methodology used, (vii) questions asked and the associated results or findings; (b) what were the total expenditures on public opinion research and surveys in (i) 2024, (ii) 2025 to date; and (c) of the surveys in (a), are the results publicly available, and, if so, what is the website link where each is located?

Q-308² — September 15, 2025 — — With regard to the government funding for Telesat, which was announced on September 13, 2024: (a) on what date, or approximately what date, did Canadian government officials enter into discussions with (i) Telesat, (ii) the Quebec government, for the funding arrangement that was subsequently announced on September 13, 2024; (b) who was involved in the initial discussions in (a); (c) was a letter of intent for this funding arrangement signed, and, if so, on what date was it executed; and (d) who wrote the first draft of the agreement, and on what date was the first draft shared with (i) the Canadian government, (ii) the Quebec government, (iii) Telesat representatives?

Q-309² — September 15, 2025 — — With regard to write-offs, loan forgiveness and waivers, under the Financial Administration Act, the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the Excise Tax Act and the Income Tax Act, broken down by fiscal year since 2023-24, including the current fiscal year to date: (a) what was the total value of write-offs for corporations; (b) how many cases involved a write-off; and (c) how many corporations had write-offs (i) under $1 million, (ii) between $1 million and $2 million, (iii) between $2 million and $5 million, (iv) between $5 million and $10 million, (v) in excess of $10 million?


² Response requested within 45 days