Written Questions Tabled in the Senate Chamber
by Senator Downe, 42nd Parliament, 1st Session

April 14, 2016 - With respect to the employees of Global Affairs Canada who have been posted outside Canada for ten or more consecutive years for the period 2004-2016, would the government provide for each of these employees the:

(a) name;

(b) title;

(c) location or locations;

(d) length of time outside Canada; and

(e) justification for continuous postings longer than five years.

May 3, 2016 - Regarding the International Experience Canada program, which provides young Canadians the opportunity to travel and work in countries that have a bilateral Youth Mobility Arrangement with Canada, for each of the countries with which Canada has a Youth Mobility Arrangement and for each of the years 2013-2016:

1. How many openings were there for Canadian youths to travel to each country under the auspices of the Agreement?

2. How many Canadian youths travelled to each country under the auspices of the Agreement?

3. How many openings were there for youths of each country to travel to Canada under the auspices of the Agreement?

4. How many youths of each country travelled to Canada under the auspices of the Agreement?

May 10, 2016 - Has Veterans Affairs Canada appointed an Assistant Deputy Minister of Strategic Oversight and Communications? Is that position based in Ottawa?

Does the Director General of Communications, based in Charlottetown, report to the Assistant Deputy Minister in Ottawa?

Is Veterans Affairs Canada aware of any other department of the Government of Canada where the person with overall responsibility for communications is not working at that department's National Headquarters?

May 10, 2016 - Further to the Veterans Affairs Minister's letter to the editor of the Guardian newspaper in Prince Edward Island, published on May 3rd 2016, could the Minister advise if he is aware of any departments where the Deputy Minster (Walter Natynczyk), Associate Deputy Minister (Karen Ellis), and Assistant Deputy Minister (Sue Foster) spend the majority of their time working in another province, away from the National Headquarters?

How can services for veterans and their family members be effectively provided if so many of the senior managers are not working at the National Headquarters to provide leadership and direction?

Will the Minister of Veterans Affairs bring VAC into line with every other department, and move its senior leadership to the National Headquarters?

May 10, 2016 - In a letter published in the Guardian newspaper in Prince Edward Island on May 3rd 2016, the Minister of Veterans Affairs indicated that parts of the Information Technology (IT) and Human Resources (HR) functions of Veterans Affairs Canada have been consolidated by Shared Services Canada and Public Services and Procurement Canada, respectively, according to the Minister. VAC continues to have IT and HR divisions at its National Headquarters in Charlottetown.

Are the same numbers of employees working at VAC's IT and HR divisions in Charlottetown as were employed in 2014? If not, what was size of the changes and what are the numbers as of May 11th 2016?

May 10, 2016 - According to the Public Service Commission of Canada, between 2008 and 2014, over 1,780 federal government jobs have been eliminated in Atlantic Canada and more than 360 of those jobs were in Prince Edward Island. During the exact same time period, the Ottawa area had their federal job employment increase by 1,835 positions.

In these difficult economic times, every job is precious, both to the people who need the work to support themselves and their families and to the economy in general. Nowhere is this more true than in Prince Edward Island, where this current economy has resulted in thousands of our citizens leaving home.

Obviously, government alone cannot solve the problem of unemployment. Meaningful economic development can only come from a healthy balanced economy that respects and welcomes the role of a robust private sector to invest the time and money to create the jobs that will allow Islanders to remain in their home province to build their future.

However, a balanced economy means that there is an important role for our government to play. In addition to a range of programs from tax policy to procurement, the federal government is Canada's largest employer: even excluding the military and the RCMP, over a quarter of a million people are employed by the Government of Canada. These jobs, and the purchasing power they represent, make the federal government an important player in the Canadian economy, and the way those jobs are distributed across Canada has a major impact on regional economies.

In the past, moving government employment away from Ottawa has served to spread these jobs - and the benefits derived from them - throughout the country. Clearly, federal government jobs can play an important role in the economy of a region like Atlantic Canada, and the best example of the benefits of decentralization is the move of Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) National Headquarters from Ottawa to Charlottetown.

Unfortunately, in the last number of years jobs have been eliminated at VAC Headquarters in Charlottetown. In addition, many senior managers are working in Ottawa, and not at the National Headquarters. How can these senior managers provide leadership within the Department to provide services to veterans and their families if they are working in another province?

Veterans Affairs Canada had 1401 employees in Prince Edward Island in 2010. That number was reduced to 1100 in 2014.
How many employees were working at Veterans Affairs Canada National Headquarters in Prince Edward Island for fiscal year 2015-2016, broken down by tenure (indeterminate, term, casual, student)?

May 10, 2016 - According to a letter published in the Guardian newspaper in Prince Edward Island on May 3rd 2016 the Minister of Veterans Affairs identified 39 "senior management positions" at Veterans Affairs Canada.

1. How many of these 39 senior management positions are located at the National Headquarters of VAC in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island?

2. Who are these senior managers, identified by name, position title and salary range for each position?

3. Would the department provide a detailed list of the actual days that each of those 39 senior managers identified by the minister worked at the National Headquarters in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and how many days they worked in Ottawa since their respective appointments?

May 10, 2016—With respect to the Enhanced New Veterans Charter Act:

In response to a written question tabled in the Senate on November 4, 2013, Julian Fantino, the then Minister of Veterans Affairs, confirmed that as of August 31, 2013, an incalculable amount of the promised "two billion dollars" of changes to the New Veterans Charter had been spent on 2717 veterans who were receiving increased monthly financial compensation through the earnings loss benefit; 590 veterans who were receiving increased access to the Permanent Incapacity Allowance; and 202 veterans who were receiving access to the Exception Incapacity Allowance.

Would the Government of Canada provide the following information regarding the answer of the Minister:

As of May 1st 2016,

1. How many veterans are receiving increased monthly financial compensation through the earnings loss benefit;

2. How many veterans are receiving increased access to the Permanent Incapacity Allowance;

3. How many veterans are receiving access to the Exception Incapacity Allowance;

4. How much have payments increased (in dollar amounts) in total for the veterans entitled to increased earnings loss benefits;

5. How much have payments increased (in dollar amounts) for each of the veterans entitled to increased earnings loss benefits;

6. How much have payments increased (in dollar amounts) in total for the veterans entitled to increased Permanent Incapacity Allowances;

7. How much have payments increased (in dollar amounts) for each of the veterans entitled to increased Permanent Incapacity Allowances;

8. How much have payments increased (in dollar amounts) in total for the veterans entitled to Exceptional Incapacity Allowances; and

9. How much have payments increased (in dollar amounts) for each of the veterans entitled to Exceptional Incapacity Allowances?

May 10, 2016 - With respect to the benefit provided by the Government of Canada for veterans' funeral and burial expenses:

A. What is the maximum amount available through the Veterans Funeral and Burial Program for funeral services?

B. How does the amount in (A) compare to the allowable maximum established for members of the RCMP and Canadian Forces?

C. In order to qualify for the maximum amount available through the Veterans Funeral and Burial Program, what must a veteran's estate be valued at?

D. How does the amount in (C) compare to the means test established for members of the RCMP and Canadian Forces?

E. How many requests for assistance with burial costs were made in each of the fiscal years from 2006-2016?

F. How many of the requests in (E) were approved? And what was the average dollar amount approved?

G. For the requests in (E), Could you please provide a breakdown, by fiscal year, summarizing the reasons for rejecting the requests (e.g. value of estate did not satisfy means test, veteran did not serve in First and Second World War or Korea, etc.) and the number of requests that were rejected for each reason?

May 11, 2016 - With respect to priority hiring:

Since 2005, qualified medically released Canadian Forces (CF) veterans have been eligible for priority employment appointments in the federal public service.

These new provisions have created important future career opportunities for veterans, but unfortunately, there are low participation levels in most federal government departments — participation that is vital in making these opportunities a reality for our injured veterans.

Statistics from the Public Service Commission show that in 2007-2008, 69 percent of medically released veterans using the priority system were appointed to one department, the Department of National Defence. Other departments are only marginally participating in this program, and in that year alone, 67 veterans had their priority appointment status expire without finding a position in the public service.

For the period from January 1, 2005, to May 1, 2016:

1. How many people were hired by the federal public service;

2. How many casual employees were hired by the federal public service;

3. How many term employees were hired by the federal public service;

4. How many indeterminate employees were hired by the federal public service;

5. How many members of the Canadian Forces have been medically released;

6. How many of these qualified medically released members have applied for a priority employment appointment in the federal public service;

7. How many have received a priority employment appointment;

8. How many were still on the priority employment appointment list when their eligibility period expired;

9. How many qualified medically released Canadian Forces veterans were hired by each federal Government department; and

10. What measures are being taken to extend this program to account for the large number of temporary and contract workers employed by the federal Government?

May 11, 2016 - With respect to the Veterans Charter:

In November, 2010 the Government of Canada tabled the Enhanced New Veterans Charter Act, containing measures "totaling two billion dollars".
Regarding this amount:

Over what time frame was this money to be spent?

How much of the $2billion has been spent?

May 11, 2016 - Regarding the sale of Canadian diplomatic properties abroad, for the period 2006-2016:

1. Which properties have been sold?

a. What was the assessed value of each property?

b. Who was responsible for the valuation of each property?

c. What was the asking price for each property?

d. What was the final sale price for each property?

e. What real estate agency or similar private company was engaged to execute or assist in the sale of each property?

f. How much was each private company paid for each sale?

g. Were there other expenses incurred (fees, taxes, etc.) as part of each sale, and if so what was the total cost for each?

2. Which properties are for sale or are under consideration for eventual sale?

a. What is the assessed value of each property?

b. Who was responsible for the valuation of each property?

c. What is the asking price for each property?

d. What real estate agency or similar private company is being engaged to execute or assist in the sale of each property?

e. How much is each private company being paid for each sale?

3. Specifically, regarding the sale of MacDonald House in London, United Kingdom:

a. What was the assessed value of MacDonald House?

b. Were there other expenses incurred (fees, taxes, etc.) as part of the sale, and if so what was the total cost?

May 11, 2016 - With respect to the Veterans Charter:

Veterans Affairs Canada began granting a tax-free, lump sum disability award and a tax-free, lump sum death benefit in 2005.

A. Could the Government of Canada provide the following information for each fiscal year from 2005 to 2016:

(i) How many veterans have received a lump sum disability award?

(a) how many eligible recipients received the maximum amount;

(b) what is the percentage of eligible recipients who received less than $50,000;

(c) what is the percentage of eligible recipients who received between $50,000 and $99,000;

(d) what is the percentage of eligible recipients who received between $100,000 and $149,999;

(e) what is the percentage of eligible recipients who received between $150,000 and $199,999; and

(f) what is the percentage of eligible recipients who received between $200,000 and $249,999?

(ii) How many families have received a lump sum death benefit?

(iii) How many problem cases associated with a lump sum disability award or death benefit have been forwarded to the Minister of Veterans Affairs' or Deputy Minister's attention?

(iv) How many recipients of the lump-sum disability award or death benefit filed a complaint with the department about either benefit?

(v) After receiving a lump-sum payment, how many recipients or their dependants have requested additional funds?

B. Are follow-up assessments with lump-sum payment recipients or their dependants conducted by the department?

C. Has Veterans Affairs Canada reviewed or evaluated the lump-sum disability award and death benefit programs? If so, what findings or conclusions have been made?

May 11, 2016 - With respect to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), the recommendation by the Special Needs Advisory Group (SNAG) in 2006 that Veterans Affairs Canada employ veterans, and the response of the Government to an October 19, 2010, Inquiry of Ministry on this subject:

(a) What has been the impact of the recruitment plan developed by VAC in response to SNAG's recommendation?

(b) What, if any, further action has been taken to implement the recommendation since the response of the Government to the Inquiry of Ministry in February 2011?

(c) Has SNAG reviewed or commented upon the actions taken by the government thus far?

(d) What has been the response, if any, of the Government to these comments?

May 11, 2016 - With respect to bonuses (i.e. performance pay and at-risk pay) at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VAC):

(a) how many employees at VAC were eligible to receive bonuses in each of the fiscal years for the period 2005-2016;

(b) how many employees at VAC received bonuses in each of the fiscal years for the period 2005-2016, and what was the

(i) minimum bonus,

(ii) maximum bonus, and

(iii) average bonus, broken down by bonus type; and

(c) how many employees at VAC received bonuses awarded in whole, or in part, for achieving a savings or spending target in each of the fiscal years for the period 2005-2016, and what was the (i) minimum bonus, (ii) maximum bonus, and (iii) average bonus?

May 11, 2016 - With respect to the government's decision not to implement recommendation nine from the June 2009 report of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, entitled Shared Experiences: Comparisons of Veterans Services Offered by Members of the Commonwealth and the G8":

(a) what criteria were used to arrive at this decision;

(b) what was the policy rationale for the decision; and

(c) is the government considering any other information sharing arrangements to better identify veterans and their families in order to ensure that they receive the benefits available to them?

June 7, 2016—For the period 2005-2016, what have been the Government of Canada's expenditures and revenues under the Ferry Services Contribution Program as they relate to the ferry service between:

• Cap-aux-Meules, Îles de la Madeleine, Quebec and Souris, Prince Edward Island, operated by CTMA Traversier Ltée;
  
  
• Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island, and Caribou, Nova Scotia, operated by Northumberland Ferries Ltd., and;
  
  
• Saint John, New Brunswick, and Digby, Nova Scotia, operated by Bay Ferries Ltd.
  

October 25, 2016 - With respect to Veterans Affairs Canada:

In his response tabled on September 29th, 2016 to my Written Question, the Minister for Veterans Affairs indicated that 19 of the 61 senior management positions in Veterans Affairs Canada are not located at VAC National Headquarters in Charlottetown Prince Edward Island.

Regarding those 19 senior managers:

1.Who are these senior managers, identified by name, position title and salary range for each position?

2.Please provide a detailed list of the actual days that each of those 19 senior managers identified by the minister worked in Ottawa and how many days they worked at the National Headquarters in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island since their respective appointments.

November 3, 2016 - According to successive reports of the Public Service Commission of Canada, there has been a disturbing trend of federal government jobs becoming concentrated in the National Capital Region at the expense of the regions. For example, between 2008 and 2014, over 1,780 federal government jobs have been eliminated in Atlantic Canada and more than 360 of those jobs were in Prince Edward Island. During the same time period, the Ottawa area had their federal job employment increase by 1,835 positions.

In the past, moving government employment away from Ottawa has served to spread those jobs — and the benefits derived from them — throughout the country. Unfortunately, recent experience has been the opposite.

Therefore, with regard to federal government employment:

As of March 2016, what were the changes to the Public Service Employment Act population, by organization, for each of the provinces of Atlantic Canada as well as the National Capital Region?

December 8, 2016 - With regard to goods in transit (goods passing through Canada but not destined for sale or consumption in Canada):

For the period 2010 to the present, have any such goods been diverted (whether though accident or design) from their original destination and ended up being consumed, sold, spilled or otherwise released into Canada?

And if so:

1.How many such diversions took place?

2.What were the circumstances of these diversions? Did they result from theft or were they accidental (a spill, for example)?

3.What was the impact of these diversions (health, environmental, economic)?

January 31, 2017—In a statement published in the Ottawa Citizen on December 17, 2016 a spokesperson for the Minister of Veterans Affairs stated that "a position to lead the recruitment of veterans within the department has now been created and a veteran appointed to that job".

Regarding this position:

1. Who has been appointed to fill this position?
   
   
2. What is this person's military experience, including rank upon release from the Canadian Armed Forces?
   
   
3. When was this position created?
   
   
4. When was this position filled?
   
   
5. What is the salary range for this position?
   
   
6. Where is this position located?

January 31, 2017—Since 2005, qualified medically released Canadian Forces (CF) veterans have been eligible for priority employment appointments in the federal public service. The answer to Senate Written Question No.10 (tabled on November 28, 2016) indicated that between January 1, 2005 and May 1, 2016, 1956 medically released CF members activated their priority status. Of that number, 585 lost their priority status before they could find such employment.

For the period from January 1, 2005, to May 1, 2016:

1. How many members of the Canadian Forces have been medically released, by rank upon date of release;
   
   
2. How many of these qualified medically released members have applied for a priority employment appointment in the federal public service, by rank upon date of release;
   
   
3. How many have received a priority employment appointment, by rank upon date of release;
   
   
4. How many were still on the priority employment appointment list when their eligibility period expired, by rank upon date of release, and;
   
   
5. How many qualified medically released Canadian Forces veterans were hired by each federal Government department, by rank upon date of release?

February 14, 2017—With regard to goods in transit (goods passing through Canada but not destined for sale or consumption in Canada):
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) acknowledged in an answer to a Written Question tabled February 7, 2017 that for the period of January 1, 2010 to December 8, 2016, there have been instances where goods in transit have been diverted from their original destination and may have ended up being consumed, sold, spilled or otherwise released into Canada.

1. What are the details of these diversions?
   
   
2. How many such diversions took place?
   
   
3. When did they take place?
   
   
4. Where did they take place?
   
   
5. What were the goods that were diverted?
   
   
6. Did they result from theft or were they accidental (a spill, for example)?
   
   
7. What was the impact of these diversions (health, environmental, economic)?

CBSA has stated that it "does not maintain statistics for unreported diverted goods because procedures are in place to ensure that unauthorized goods that transit through Canada are not diverted into the Canadian market." However, in the same statement, it acknowledged that "there have been instances where goods in transit have been diverted."

1. In the absence of statistics, how does CBSA know goods have been diverted?
   
   
2. Does CBSA have any other means of knowing about diversions of goods other than receiving reports from the shipper?.

March 8, 2017—With respect to advertising for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for the years 2015-17 inclusively:

(a)what was the advertising budget for the CRA, broken down by year;

(b)how many different advertising campaigns were created and/or used, broken down by year

(c)how many different advertisements were produced and/or used, broken down by year;

(d)what was the total cost (design, production, airtime, printing, etc.) for the advertising campaigns in (b);

(e)what was the total cost (production, airtime, printing, etc.) for the advertisements in (c);

(f)what was the cost to produce the television, radio, print, or online spots, broken down individually by advertisement;

(g)what company or companies produced the advertisements, broken down individually by advertisement;

(h)what was the cost of television airtime for the advertisements, broken down individually by advertisement;

(i)what television channels were the advertisements aired on;

(j)what was the cost of online airtime for the advertisements, broken down individually by advertisement;

(k)what online platforms were the advertisements aired on, broken down by free media (i.e. posting to YouTube) and fee media (i.e online commercials);

(l)what was the cost of ad space in newspapers and other print publications, broken down individually by advertisement; and

(m)what programs or divisions of CRA were responsible for

(i)overseeing/coordinating production of the advertisements,

(ii)financing the production of the advertisements,

(iii)financing the purchase of airtime both on television and online, and print space in newspapers and other print publications?

March 8, 2017—Regarding the item “How Canada is cracking down on offshore tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance,” published in the National Post on March 3, 2017:

For the period 2015-17:

1.Did the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) write the item in question?

2.If not, who wrote it, and what was the cost of having it written?

3.If it was prepared by Post Media, how many items of such content have been purchased by the CRA from Post Media?

4.Have any items of such content been purchased by the CRA from any other firm?

5.If so, how many and what are the names of those firms?

6.How much money has the CRA spent on such content?

7.In what newspapers was this content published? On what dates?

8.Have similar purchases of content been made in other media (radio, television, internet, etc.)?

9.If so, what are the details of those purchases (instances, dates, expenditures, firms, etc.)?

March 29, 2017—With respect to Veterans Affairs Canada:

Regarding the Veterans Priority Program Secretariat:

1. When was this organization formed?

2. Where is it located?

3. What is its budget?

4. Who are the members of the Secretariat?

March 29, 2017—With respect to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA):

An article in the March 20th 2017 edition of the Toronto Star mentioned “a new branch of the CRA, known as the International, Large Business and Criminal Investigations”.

Regarding this “new branch”:

1. When was it formed?

2. Is it a wholly new organization, or is it merely a reorganization of existing resources?

3. What is its annual budget?

4. What is its mandate?

5. Has it been assigned any performance goals? If so, what are they?

6. How many people are employed in it, full time?

7. How many of these people are new hires, and how many came from other parts of the Agency?

April 4, 2017—With regard to Federal Public Service Employment:

For the period October 19th 2015 to March 31st 2017:

How many people worked for the Public Service of Canada (as defined by the Public Service Employment Act), by department, per geographical area for each of the months in the period specified?

April 4, 2017—With respect to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA):

Regarding the April 11, 2016 announcement by the CRA of measures to combat overseas tax evasion:

1.The announcement referred to an investment of $444.4 million over five years.

•How much of that has actually been spent by the Agency as of the end of Fiscal Year 2016-17?

2.The Isle of Man was slated to be the first in a new series of in-depth examinations of potential tax havens. As of March 31, 2017:

• What have been the results, in terms of charges/convictions and revenue recovered?

•What additional jurisdictions have been added?

•How much money was identified as being owed?

•And how much was actually collected?

3.The CRA committed to creating a special program dedicated to stopping organizations that perform and promote tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.  As of March 31, 2017:

•Has this special program been created?

•What resources have been spent on it?
•How does the number of tax schemes examined compare to one year ago?

•Has it resulted in more criminal investigations? If so, how many?

•How many charges have been laid as a direct result of this effort?

4.The Agency announced a five-fold increase in the number of investigations of so-called “high risk taxpayers” — from 600 to 3000 annually — which would bring in $423 million in new revenue. As of March 31, 2017:

•How many examinations have been conducted?

•How much new tax revenue has been collected?

5.CRA announced the hiring of 100 new auditors to investigate “high-risk multinational corporations” which the CRA was said to bring in half a billion dollars in five years. As of March 31, 2017:

•How many examinations have been conducted?

•How much new tax revenue has been collected?

•How many auditors are currently employed to investigate “high-risk multinational corporations”?

•How does this compare to the 440 full-time equivalents (FTEs) in the international Audit Program and the 506 FTEs working in the Aggressive Tax Planning Program in Fiscal Year 2009-10?

6.The Agency announced the formation of an Offshore Compliance Advisory Committee which, among other things, would lay out a course for the government to finally measure this country’s tax gap. As of March 31, 2017:

•How many times has it met?

•Who has attended these meetings?

•When will the committee issue further reports?

•What recommendations have been made?

April 11, 2017—With respect to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC):

In his response tabled on September 29, 2016 to my Written Question, the Minister for Veterans Affairs indicated that 19 of the 61 senior management positions in VAC are not located at VAC National Headquarters in Charlottetown Prince Edward Island. This led to my Order Paper Question No. 19, of October 25, 2016, in which I requested details about those 19 senior managers; in particular their names, position titles, salary ranges and the number of actual days since their respective appointments that they worked in Ottawa and how many days they worked at the National Headquarters in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. In the response to this Question, Tabled on April 5, 2016, I received information about these senior officials, but there was no information pertaining to Walt Natynczyk, Deputy Minister.

Therefore, regarding Walt Natynczyk, Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs Canada:

1. What is the salary range for his position?
   
   
2. Please provide a detailed list of the actual days that he worked in Ottawa and how many days he worked at the National Headquarters in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island since his appointment.

October 31, 2017—The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) continues to play its games when it comes to keeping the public informed about its activities. Stonewalling independent verification of its claims at every point, the Agency continues to hide behind a wall of carefully calculated talking points and statistics, producing vague claims of progress while avoiding a frank description of what they are actually doing, or failing to do.

For example, on October 20, 2017, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue, Kamal Khera, made the following statements in the House of Commons:

We are on track to recover $25 billion from our efforts against tax evasion and avoidance since coming to office. More work is under way... We have had 627 cases transferred to criminal investigations. We have had 268 search warrants executed, and 78 convictions.

Six weeks previously, in a statement dated September 7, Minister of National Revenue Diane Lebouthillier provided the following indications of CRA activity:

• 335 cases referred for criminal investigations
  
  
• 123 search warrants executed
  
  
• 32 criminal charges laid under the Income Tax Act, Excise Tax Act and/or the Criminal Code
  
  
• 37 convictions
  
  
• $10 million in court fines and 50.6 years of jail time
  
  
• 111,712 audits completed
  
  
• $12.5 billions in fiscal impact

The statistics cited by the Minister refer to Fiscal Year 2016-17, but the Parliamentary Secretary's remarks do not refer to a timeframe. However they do suggest that the Canada Revenue Agency has done as much to fight tax evasion in the last six months as they had in the previous year, a spectacular level of success unsupported by any recent announcements by the Agency or the "Convictions" page of the CRA website

Therefore, with respect to the expected recovery of $25 billion, please provide:

1. The amount of the expected recovery related to overseas tax evasion.
   
   
2. The amount of the expected recovery related to overseas tax evasion that has actually been collected.
   
   
3. The amount of money actually recovered as of November 1, 2017.

With respect to these convictions, please provide:

1. The details of each conviction, including:
   
   (a) The name of the individual(s) convicted;
   
   (b) The name and type (i.e. civil or criminal) of offense;
   
   (c) The amount of money or the type of asset and the value of the asset involved;
   
   (d) The location of the money or asset involved;
   
   (e) The possible range of penalties/sentences upon conviction;
   
   (f) The actual penalty and/or sentence received;
   
   (g) Whether the conviction was achieved through sentencing, plea bargain, settlement, etc.; and,
   
   (h) The amount of time that passed between the commencement of an audit, investigation, or some other form of compliance action in respect of the offence
   and the date of conviction;
   
   
2. The total number of offences related to money and other assets held offshore that were considered/referred for civil prosecution but never pursued;
   
   
3. The total number of offences related to money and other assets held offshore that were considered/referred for criminal prosecution but never pursued;
   
   
4. The total number of offences related to money and other assets held offshore that were prosecuted civilly but were thrown out of court or lost in court; and
   
   
5. The total number of offences related to money and other assets held offshore that were prosecuted criminally but were thrown out of court or lost in court.
   

November 2, 2017—Regarding the Veterans Priority Program Secretariat:

In the answer tabled on September 19, 2017 to Written Question No. 45, the Government stated that the Veterans Priority Program Secretariat of Veterans Affairs Canada is "resourced for nine full time employees as well as employs students on an ongoing basis. Three positions are currently vacant though are to be staffed imminently. Four of the current compliment are former Canadian Armed Forces members."

1. Has the Secretariat been fully staffed?
   
   
2. Who is currently employed by the Secretariat?
   
   
3. How many employees of the Secretariat are former Canadian Armed Forces members?
   
   
4. What was the rank of each former Canadian Armed Forces member upon leaving the military?

November 2, 2017—Regarding the International Experience Canada program, which provides young Canadians the opportunity to travel and work in countries that have a bilateral youth mobility arrangement with Canada:

For each of the countries with which Canada has youth mobility arrangement, for each of the years 2013-17:

1. How many openings were there for Canadian youths to travel to each country under the auspices of the agreement?
   
   
2. How many Canadian youths travelled to each country under the auspices of the agreement?
   
   
3. How many openings were there for youths of each country to travel to Canada under the auspices of the agreement?
   
   
4. How many youths of each country travelled to Canada under the auspices of the agreement?

November 22, 2017—Regarding the Canada Child Tax Benefit:

In fiscal year 2016-17, $96 million was provided to Prince Edward Islanders under the Canada Child Tax Benefit program.

1. How much money was provided via the Benefit per federal electoral district in Prince Edward Island?
   
   
2. What was the average monthly payment for those Prince Edward Islanders receiving the Benefit?
   
   
3. What percentage of recipients in Prince Edward Island had adjusted net family annual income:
   
   (a) Under $30,000
   
   (b) Between $30,000 and $49,999
   
   (c) Between $50,000 and $79,999
   
   (d) Over $80,000
   
   
4. What was the average adjusted net family income for those Prince Edward Islanders receiving the Benefit?

March 8, 2017—Regarding the item "How Canada is cracking down on offshore tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance," published in the National Post on March 3, 2017:

For the period 2015-17:

1.Did the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) write the item in question?

2.If not, who wrote it, and what was the cost of having it written?

3.If it was prepared by Post Media, how many items of such content have been purchased by the CRA from Post Media?

4.Have any items of such content been purchased by the CRA from any other firm?

5.If so, how many and what are the names of those firms?

6.How much money has the CRA spent on such content?

7.In what newspapers was this content published? On what dates?

8.Have similar purchases of content been made in other media (radio, television, internet, etc.)?

9.If so, what are the details of those purchases (instances, dates, expenditures, firms, etc.)?

Response to the written question: see attached PDF 1522

March 29, 2017—With respect to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA):

An article in the March 20th 2017 edition of the Toronto Star mentioned "a new branch of the CRA, known as the International, Large Business and Criminal Investigations".

Regarding this "new branch":

1.When was it formed?

2.Is it a wholly new organization, or is it merely a reorganization of existing resources?

3.What is its annual budget?

4.What is its mandate?

5.Has it been assigned any performance goals? If so, what are they?

6.How many people are employed in it, full time?

7.How many of these people are new hires, and how many came from other parts of the Agency?

Response to the written question: see attached PDF: 1524

April 17, 2018—With respect to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA):

Regarding the commitment in the 2016 federal budget to spend $444.4 million (over five years) to combat tax evasion, and the commitment in the 2017 federal budget to spend $523.9 million (over five years) for the same purpose: a previous answer to one of my written questions indicated that less than $40 million of that had actually been spent as of the end of fiscal year 2016-17.

How much of that promised one billion dollars has actually been spent by the CRA:

1.as of the end of fiscal year 2016-17; and

2.as of the end of fiscal year 2017-18?

Response to the written question: see attached PDF: CRA - April 11th Updated E

December 12, 2018—With respect to overseas tax evasion:

On April 3rd 2016 the Panama Papers were disclosed, including the names of more than 600 Canadians. In response, the Canada Revenue Agency committed to "combatting the abusive use of offshore jurisdictions and protecting the integrity of the Canadian tax system", and would "pursue audits related to offshore tax evasion including some Canadian clients" named in the Panama Papers.

After more than 2 years what progress has the Canada Revenue Agency achieved?

With that in mind, would the Government of Canada provide the following:

1.How many Canadians (individuals or companies/corporations) have been identified in the Panama Papers?

2.Of those Canadians (individuals or companies/corporations) identified, how many of them are being, or have been reviewed by the Canada Revenue Agency since the release of the Panama Papers?

3.How many audits have been undertaken against these Canadians by the Canada Revenue Agency?

(a)How many reassessments or related compliance actions have been undertaken?

4.How many audits have been closed?

5.How many audits are still ongoing?

6.1. How many identified Canadians have availed themselves of the Voluntary Disclosure Program with the Canada Revenue Agency?

7.How many identified Canadians have settled with the Canada Revenue Agency?

8.How much money, including unpaid taxes, fines, etc., has the Canada Revenue Agency assessed as a result of investigating these cases?

9.Regarding Question 7, what is the breakdown of the money assessed from these cases, specifically:

(a)in unpaid taxes;

(b)in interest;

(c)in fines; and

(d)in penalties?

10.How much of the money has been collected?

11.How many of these cases are under appeal?

12.How many cases remain open?

13.How many of the cases have been closed, i.e. the full amount of taxes, interest, fines and penalties have been collected?

14.How many tax evasion charges have been laid?

Response to the written question: see attached PDF: Delayed answer - question 116 (overseas tax evasion)