Written Order Paper Questions Go Unanswered As Parliament Shut Down
Monday, January 25, 2010

OTTAWA – Stephen Harper’s decision to shut down Parliament means that dozens of written MP questions to the government will go unanswered.

In addition to killing 36 pieces of legislation, eliminating dozens of House and Senate committees and shutting down Question Period in the House of Commons and Senate, by proroguing Parliament the Conservatives have also hidden from their responsibility to provide potentially embarrassing and incriminating answers to written Order Paper Questions from MPs.

The government has 45 days to respond to Order Paper Questions, but when Parliament is prorogued, all Questions on the Order Paper die. They can all be resubmitted, but instead of getting answers on January 25th when Parliament was supposed to resume, the clock will have to start again on each question. The government can continue to hide facts from Canadians thanks to the Prime Minister’s self-serving decision to shut down Parliament.

Of 123 unanswered Questions on the Order Paper, 112 were submitted by Liberal MPs. Here are some of Order Paper Questions submitted by Liberal MPs that would have had to be answered on January 25th if Parliament had not been shut down:

Redaction of Afghan detainee memos (Michael Ignatieff): Who was responsible for redacting the documents and what role did the DFAIT, National Defence, the Privy Council Office or any ministry play?

Abuse of Afghan detainees (Ujjal Dosanjh): How many times has the government notified the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) of allegations of abuse, mistreatment, or torture of Canadian-transferred detainees? Did the government follow-up on these or any other investigation with regards to allegations or evidence of abuse, mistreatment, or torture of Canadian-transferred detainees to ensure that each of the allegations had been investigated? What were the results of these investigations? What did the government do to assure itself that the allegations had been sufficiently investigated by the AIHRC or any other entity? Were any records or files kept on these investigations? Were any of these investigations deemed to be insufficient and, if so, what was done to remedy this?

Afghan detainee policy (Ujjal Dosanjh): Did the government ever request legal opinions regarding Canada’s domestic and international legal responsibility for detainees captured by the Canadian military or military police in Afghanistan and transferred to Afghan authorities? Did this legal advice contribute to the formulation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada's diplomatic contingency plan related to detainees?

Status of Women (Michael Ignatieff): How many funding applications or requests has this office received since 2006? How many funding requests were granted since 2006? What is the name of each organization or individual who received funding from Status of Women Canada since 2006?

Infrastructure spending (John Cannis): What projects have been funded, where are they located, who applied and how much money has been allocated to each project, for each of the following:
• Building Canada Fund-
• Recreational Infrastructure Canada Fund
• Knowledge Infrastructure Fund
• Community Adjustment Fund

Cost of new justice legislation (Mark Holland): What are the costs associated with the implementation of government crime legislation? What plans does CSC have to alter existing facilities to meet the needs of inmates and staff over the next 15 years, what is the timeline and what costs are associated with these projects?

Government advertising (Andrew Kania): How much has the government spent on promoting Canada's Economic Action Plan through advertising in print, radio and television? When and where was each advertisment published, aired and broadcast?

Government asset sales (Martha Hall Findlay): Which government departments have assets being considered for sale to meet the government’s commitment to sell $10.1 billion worth of government assets over a five year period?

Cost cutting (John McCallum): Which 21 departments and agencies participated in the government’s program spending review? For each of the participating departments and agencies, among what programs or services were the savings identified and in what amounts?