Questions

Question period is an opportunity for Opposition Member's of Parliament (occasionally Government Members as well) to direct questions to Cabinet Ministers with regards to their portfolio. Questions are allocated to opposition parties on a ratio, based on their representation in the House of Commons.

Question Period is aired live on CPAC when the House is in session.

Viewing times are as follows:

1:15pm to 2:00pm (Mon -Thurs) and 8:15am to 9am (Fri.) (CST)

1.  Thursday, November 3, 2005

Mr. Inky Mark:

    With respect to the firearms registry: (a) how many Possession-Only Licences (POL’s) have expired within the last 3 years; and (b) what follow up has been undertaken by the government for those who have not renewed their POL’s?

Hon. Roy Cullen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.):

    Mr. Speaker, the reply is as follows:

    a) The following is a breakdown of possession only licences, POLs, that have expired within the last three years for which there has been no renewal. The numbers shown are directly related to the increase in the number of POLs issued five years ago, which are now due for renewal.

     b) The government undertakes a number of activities to help firearms owners stay in compliance with the Firearms Act. Specifically:

    --Ninety days prior to the expiration date of a POL, the Canada Firearms Centre mails the client a firearm licence application form which is pre-populated with client information and a notice reminding them that their licence is due to expire.

    --If no application has been received 30 days prior to the expiration of the licence, a second reminder notice is mailed to the client.

    If the firearm owner does not renew his/her POL, the Canada Firearms Centre takes action to initiate the lawful disposal of the firearms. Specifically,

    --The Canada Firearms Centre begins the process to revoke any firearm registration certificates associated with that licence.

    --A notice of refusal / revocation is sent to clients via registered mail, informing them of the revocation of their registration certificates, their appeal rights and the acceptable options for disposal of the affected firearms, such as transfer, deactivation, export or surrender to a police agency.

    --A copy of the revocation notice is sent to the respective Chief Firearms Officer and the local police agency to ensure awareness and coordination.

    If records indicate that the client possesses any or all of, an authorization to carry, ATC, special authority to possess, SAP, or authorization to transport, ATT, a separate notification is sent to the Chief Firearms Officer as a reminder that these permits should also be revoked.

    If within 30 days, the Canada Firearms Centre receives no appeal request from the client, has no indication of lawful disposition of the client’s firearms, and all administrative measures have been exhausted, the matter is referred to the local police for their action.

2.  Monday November 14, 2005

Mr. Inky Mark:

    With regard to the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program: (a) what is the total amount of funding the government has deposited into the program since its creation; (b) how much has been withdrawn by applicants; and (c) how much has been withdrawn by applicants in the riding of Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette?

Hon. Andy Mitchell (Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lib.):

    Mr. Speaker, the reply is as follows:

    (a) The Canadian agricultural income stabilization, CAIS, program replaced both the Canadian farm income payment, CFIP, and the net income stabilization account, NISA, program. Whereas, under the NISA program, governments deposited their share of program payments into producer accounts, the CAIS program makes the government share of payments directly to producers. Currently, the only deposit requirement is by producers in order to secure coverage under the CAIS program.

     In July, federal-provincial-territorial ministers agreed to replace the producer deposit mechanism under CAIS with a fee-based structure in order to respond to producer concerns regarding the affordability of the program and to free up capital which was previously held in CAIS accounts. In the meantime, the deadline for producer deposits for the 2003, 2004 and 2005 program years has been extended until March 31, 2006 and producers have been allowed to withdraw their previously deposited funds. There is currently less than $340 million remaining in producers’ CAIS accounts, down from nearly $650 million in March of this year.

    In relation to government funding under CAIS, I would like to point out that CAIS is a needs-based program. This means there is no annual spending cap on the program in order to allow CAIS to better respond to producer-demand. As a business risk management, BRM, program under the current agricultural policy framework, APF, the CAIS program, together with production insurance and the spring and fall cash advance programs, is funded from a committed $5.5 billion in federal funding over the five-year life of the program (2003-04 to 2007-08 fiscal years), which equates to approximately $1.1 billion per year. Under the 60:40 federal-provincial cost-sharing ratio, the provinces have committed to adding another $700 million per year to this federal funding.

    Since the inception of CAIS for the 2003 program year, governments have paid a total of $2.3 billion ($1.38 billion federal and $0.92 billion provincial shares) to producers under the program.
    (b) This has resulted in producers receiving more than $2.3 billion in income stabilization and disaster assistance payments through the CAIS Program to date, which include final payments for 2003, interim (advance) payments and final payments for 2004 and interim payments for 2005. As 2003 CAIS payments are winding down and payments for the 2004 program year are now being paid, as well as interim payments for the 2005 program year, this number will continue to increase.

    (c) In response to your request for CAIS payment number for your riding, I must say that the administrative systems for the CAIS program do not allow me to provide that type of a breakdown. However, I would like to report that more than $200 million has gone out to producers in Manitoba since CAIS was implemented.