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Written Questions

Questions submitted by Members of Parliament on issues of interest to the library community. (Topics indicated in red.)

41st Parliament

2nd Session (October 16, 2013 – )

Q-266 — January 31, 2014 — Mr. MacAulay (Cardigan) — With regard to the consolidation of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ library system, for each of the following locations, (i) the St. Andrews Biological Station, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, (ii) the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, (iii) the Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo, British Columbia, (iv) the Pacific Region Headquarters Library, Vancouver, British Columbia, (v) the Eric Marshall Aquatic Research Library, Winnipeg, Manitoba, (vi) the Maurice Lamontagne Institute Library, Mont-Joli, Quebec, (vii) the Mère Juliette Library of the Gulf Fisheries Centre, Moncton, New Brunswick: (a) was the general public given the opportunity to salvage or obtain library materials which would otherwise have been discarded during the consolidation process; (b) if so, through what media or methods, and when was this opportunity communicated to the public; and (c) on what dates and times did the public, or will the public, have that opportunity?

  • Response (Tabled: March 24, 2014)
    PDF, 223 KB

Q-238 — January 27, 2014 — Mr. Dion (Saint-Laurent—Cartierville) — With regard to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ (DFO) consolidation of 11 DFO libraries into four DFO libraries: (a) which groups were consulted or gave input in developing the consolidation of DFO libraries; (b) which departments, agencies and offices were consulted or gave input in developing the consolidation of DFO libraries; (c) which individuals were consulted or gave input in developing the consolidation of DFO libraries; (d) how many titles were held by DFO libraries in each of the last five years; (e) how many titles are currently held in DFO libraries; (f) how many titles are projected to be held in DFO libraries in 2015; (g) which documents were digitized prior to consolidation and what was the criteria to determine priority/order of documents digitized; (h) how and by whom was the digitization plan developed and contracted; (i) how much time was given for digitization prior to the disposal of documents; (j) what documents are no longer available in DFO libraries; (k) what is the acquisition plan for new materials, (i) how was this acquisition plan developed, (ii) by whom, (iii) who was consulted, (iv) on what date, (v) when was this plan implemented; (l) how does the cost of acquisition compare with the cost of retention; (m) how do the findings in (y) compare with the projected trends for the acquisition and retention plans for the next five years; (n) what cost-benefit analyses were undertaken regarding the consolidation of DFO libraries, (i) by whom, (ii) on what date, (iii) what metrics were developed to assess the benefits of consolidation of DFO libraries, (iv) what metrics were developed to assess the benefits of material retention, (v) what qualitative factors were considered in the decision-making process, (vi) how were these considered, (vii) by whom, (viii) on what date; (o) in what way was the public informed of the consolidation plan, (i) on what dates, (ii) with what process for consultation, (iii) with what timeline for participation; (p) in what ways was public input considered in the decision to consolidate the DFO libraries; (q) in what ways was the public informed of the ultimate decision; (r) which non-governmental stakeholders were identified in development of this policy; (s) in what ways were non-governmental stakeholders informed of the consolidation plan, (i) on what dates, (ii) with what process for consultation, (iii) with what timeline for participation; (t) in what ways was non-governmental stakeholders’ input considered in the decision to consolidate the DFO libraries; (u) in what ways were non-governmental stakeholders informed of the ultimate decision; (v) in what way were parliamentarians informed of the consolidation plan, (i) on what dates, (ii) with what process for consultation, (iii) with what timeline for participation; (w) in what ways was the input of parliamentarians considered in the decision to consolidate the DFO libraries; (x) in what ways were parliamentarians informed of the ultimate decision; (y) for the last 10 years, broken down by DFO library, what equipment has been requested and provided, and which libraries were provided with additional resources for the purpose of digitizing their collections; (z) for the last 10 years, broken down by DFO library, how many staff have been employed in full-time equivalents (FTE); (aa) for the last 10 years, broken down by DFO library, how many staff have been trained in digitization, by FTE; (bb) for the last 10 years, broken down by DFO library, how many staff have been trained in retention, by FTE; (cc) what partnership agreements or information-sharing agreements do DFO libraries have with other library institutions and how are these agreements impacted by library consolidation; (dd) what service standards does DFO develop for its libraries, (i) how have these standards been impacted by library consolidation, (ii) broken down by the last five years, what service standards were established, (iii) broken down by the next five years, what service standards are projected; (ee) were any collection documents shredded; (ff) were any collection documents incinerated; (gg) what plans were in place to ensure that disposal of collection materials would be done in an environmentally-friendly way; (hh) were the disposed materials considered for donations, (i) did the government reach out to any organizations or institutions to assess interest in the donation of these materials, (ii) did the government donate any titles to any organization or institution, (iii) did the government receive any requests for donations, (iv) how did the government respond to these requests; (ii) what plans and mechanisms are in place to assess the long-term impact of this policy change, and what reports will be published concerning any consequences; (jj) have any disposed titles been identified as having important scientific impact or value; (kk) have any disposed titles been identified as having important cultural impact or value; (ll) have any disposed titles been identified as having important historical impact or value; (mm) what percentage of disposed material was Canadian content; (nn) were any collection documents not digitized before disposal, and if so, why; and (oo) with the closure of the Maurice Lamontagne Institute, (i) what will the consequences and repercussions of the closure of this institution be, (ii) what were the plans and consultations around prioritization of digitalization and physical preservation of the Institute’s French-language documents, (iii) with whom did the plans and consultations take place, (iv) are there plans for the establishment of other French-language libraries?

  • Response (Tabled: March 24, 2014)
    PDF, 1 MB

Q-237 — January 27, 2014 — Mr. Dion (Saint-Laurent—Cartierville) — With regard to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO): (a) what is the Department’s information management (IM) strategy; (b) on what date was the IM strategy established; (c) who participated in the development of the IM strategy; (d) which groups or organizations were consulted or gave input in developing the IM strategy; (e) which departments, agencies or offices were consulted or gave input in developing the IM strategy; (f) which individuals were consulted or gave input in developing the IM strategy; (g) what is the DFO Records Retention Plan; (h) on what date was the Records Retention Plan established; (i) who participated in the development of the Records Retention Plan; (j) which groups were consulted or gave input in developing the Records Retention Plan; (k) which departments, agencies and offices were consulted or gave input in developing the Records Retention Plan; (l) which individuals were consulted in developing the Records Retention Plan; and (m) what are the benchmarks for record retention?

  • Response (Tabled: March 7, 2014)
    PDF, 292 KB

Q-110 — October 24, 2013 — Mr. MacAulay (Cardigan) — With regard to the consolidation of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ library system, for each of the following locations, (i) the St. Andrews Biological Station, St. Andrews, NB, (ii) the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, St. John’s, NL, (iii) the Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo, BC, (iv) the Pacific Region Headquarters Library, Vancouver, BC, (v) the Eric Marshall Aquatic Research Library, Winnipeg, MB, (vi), the Maurice Lamontagne Institute Library, Mont-Joli, QC, (vii) the Mère Juliette Library of the Gulf Fisheries Centre, Moncton, NB: (a) how many items from the library’s collection have been retained for consolidation in another regional library; (b) how many items have been (i) deposited in other federal government collections, specifying which collections, (ii) offered to libraries outside the federal government, specifying which libraries and how many have been accepted, (iii) sold, (iv) discarded; (c) for each location, how many items have been digitized, distinguishing government of Canada publications, other government publications and items other than government publications;(d) for each location, what have been the costs associated with discarding surplus items; and (e) what are the file numbers of any contracts or invoices for the removal and disposition of discarded material?

  • Response (Tabled: January 27, 2014)
    PDF, 336 KB

Q-57 — October 17, 2013 — Mr. Simms (Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor) — With regard to copyrighted material held by the government: (a) what copyrighted material does the government own, broken down by (i) department, (ii) creation date, (iii) publication date, (iv) author, (v) fee charged for use, (vi) total fees collected to date in the lifetime of the material, (vii) format or media type, (viii) cost of production, (ix) future plans, (x) for any material not available to the public, what are the reasons for the secrecy and the name and title of the person responsible for the decision to keep the material from the public; and (b) what enforcement action has the government taken to protect its copyright on any material since January, 2006, broken down by (i) department, (ii) creation date, (iii) publication date, (iv) author, (v) fee charged for use, (vi) total fees collected to date in the lifetime of the material, (vii) alleged infraction, (viii) damages sought, (ix) case status, (x) case outcome or settlement?

  • Response (Tabled: December 4, 2013)
    PDF, 4.6 MB

Q-36 — October 16, 2013 — Ms. Foote (Random—Burin—St. George’s) — With regard to the closure of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ (DFO) library in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador (N.L.): (a) what are the anticipated costs, both (i) broken down by individual expense, (ii) in total, of closing the library; (b) does the space that housed the library belong to the government, (i) if so, what are the plans for the space, (ii) if not, how long does the government plan to continue to rent the space and for what purpose; (c) how many total items were housed in the library, and of these (i) how many are digitized, (ii) how many are not digitized, (iii) how many will be transferred to the DFO library in Nova Scotia, (iv) how many will be given away, (v) how many are going to be destroyed; (d) what criteria were used in selecting which DFO libraries to close; (e) was there a consultation period preceding the decision to close, and if so, what were the results of the consultation; (f) how many people were employed at the library in each calendar year from fiscal year 2005 until the present, broken down by (i) part-time workers, (ii) full-time workers, (iii) contract workers; (g) how many jobs will be lost as a result of the library closure; (h) will employees be given the option to relocate to the Nova Scotia library; (i) what is the plan to ensure that all resources, physical and digital, remain available to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, (i) how much does the government expect this process to cost, (ii) will any of these costs be downloaded to the library user, (iii) how will library users return physical items, (iv) who will pay for the return of items mentioned in sub-question (iii), (v) what is the expected individual cost per each physical item borrowed by people located in N.L., (vi) how is the individual cost calculated; (j) what is the plan to digitize items in cases of copyright conflict, and how much does the government expect this plan to cost; (k) what is the anticipated cost, both (i) broken down by individual expense, (ii) in total, to maintain the online portal “WAVES” system annually; (l) how many items are included in DFO’s collection of “grey material”, (i) how many of these will be digitized, (ii) what will happen to the balance of these materials; (m) what is the average elapsed time between the moment a request to make departmental publications available on WAVES is received, and the moment when the departmental publication is received; and (n) what is the anticipated time it will take for a physical item to be received in N.L. after being requested?

  • Response (Tabled: November 29, 2013)
    PDF, 407 KB

1st Session (June 2, 2011 – September 13, 2013)

Q-1338 — April 29, 2013 — Mr. Nantel (Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher) — With regard to Library and Archives Canada (LAC), since January 1, 2005: (a) what sections and branches currently exist or have existed, broken down by year; (b) how many archivists work or have worked in each section and branch, broken down by year, including and specifying part-time and seasonal employees; (c) how many managers work for each section and department; (d) how many items were acquired; (e) what was the total value of items acquired; (f) how many interlibrary loans were registered; (g) what were the costs for operating interlibrary loans; and (h) how many international trips did the head of LAC take and what were the costs of those trips?

  • Response (Tabled: June 14, 2013)
    PDF, 572 KB

Q-1337 — April 29, 2013 — Mr. Nantel (Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher) — With regard to Library and Archives Canada (LAC), since January 1, 2005, has the Treasury Board provided funding to LAC for the development and testing of a Trusted Digital Repository (TDR) and, if so, (i) how much was provided, (ii) in which fiscal years, (iii) which reports are available to provide details on the success of the TDR’s development and implementation?

Q-1336 — April 29, 2013 — Mr. Nantel (Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher) — With regard to Library and Archives Canada (LAC), since January 1, 2011: (a) what are the details of all the fonds and records held in custody by LAC that have been or are currently being de-accessioned to (i) provincial or territorial archives, (ii) university archives, (iii) regional or local archival institutions or organizations; (b) on what written policy or operational rationale were each of these de-accessions based on; (c) what are the details of all the fonds and records on deposit with LAC that have been or are currently under discussion or negotiation for referral to (i) provincial or territorial archives, (ii) university archives or libraries, (iii) regional or local archival institutions or organizations; and (d) in every case the LAC decided not to acquire archives or records being offered, what written policy or operational rationale was provided to the donor as the basis of this decision?

  • Response (Tabled: June 14, 2013)
    PDF, 280 KB

Q-1303 — April 15, 2013 — Mr. Toone (Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine) — With regard to the libraries at the Maurice Lamontagne Institute and the St. Andrews Biological Station: (a) what were the operating costs for these two libraries over the last 10 years, broken down by year and library; (b) what were the projected operating costs for these two libraries over the next five years, broken down by year and library; (c) what are the costs, including the actual and projected costs, associated with closing these two libraries, broken down by year and library; (d) what studies show that closing these two libraries will allow the government to save money, and what are the results of these studies; and (e) how is the government planning to replace the French-language services offered by the Maurice Lamontagne Institute library?

  • Response (Tabled: May 30, 2013)
    PDF, 196 KB

Q-1260 — March 25, 2013 — Mr. Simms (Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor) — With respect to requests made by the government to Library and Archives Canada (LAC): (a) since 2006, what information and services have been requested of LAC in any way, broken down by department or Crown corporation and (i) date of inquiry, (ii) date of response, (iii) purpose of inquiry, (iv) nature of response, (v) relevant programs at LAC used to provide response; (b) for services enumerated in (a) that have been provided by LAC and that are no longer available, what alternatives is the government using or considering to fulfill those needs in their absence, broken down by department or Crown corporation and (i) date of inquiry, (ii) date of response, (iii) purpose of inquiry, (iv) nature of response, (v) service supplier, (vi) total cost; (c) what internal correspondence discussing alternative solutions or service providers exists; and (d) what contracts have been put to tender or signed relating to these alternative solutions or service providers?

  • Response (Tabled: May 10, 2013)
    PDF, 16.6 MB

Q-1253 — March 20, 2013 — Mr. McCallum (Markham—Unionville) — With regard to government expenditures on media monitoring, for every contract entered into since April 1, 2011, what search terms were required to be monitored?

  • Response (Tabled: May 6, 2013)
    PDF, 59.3 MB

Q-943 — October 2, 2012 — Mr. Casey (Charlottetown) — With regard to government publishing after the transition to exclusively electronic publications: (a) what are the government’s plans or procedures to ensure the preservation, for posterity, of (i) publications published by the Publishing Program, (ii) publications provided by departments to the Depository Services Program; and (b) concerning such preservation, what are the dates, titles, and file numbers of any reports, studies, or dossiers prepared by, for, or on behalf of (i) Publishing and Depository Services, (ii) Public Works and Government Services Canada, (iii) Heritage Canada, (iv) Library and Archives Canada?

  • Response (Tabled: November 19, 2012)
    PDF, 297 KB

Q-785 — June 19, 2012 — Mr. McGuinty (Ottawa South) — With regard to government libraries: (a) since January 1, 2012, which departments or agencies have closed, or will be closing, their departmental or agency libraries; (b) what is the rationale for each closure; (c) what evaluations, studies, or assessments were conducted and used to make the decision to close; (d) what are the dates and file numbers of those evaluations, studies, or assessments; (e) what are the plans for the disposition of the holdings of the libraries; (f) what evaluations, studies, or assessments were conducted and used to make decisions concerning the disposition of holdings; and (g) what are the dates and file numbers of those evaluations, studies, or assessments?

  • Response (Tabled: September 17, 2012)
    PDF, 4.4 MB

Q-772 — June 19, 2012 — Ms. Murray (Vancouver Quadra) — With regard to Library and Archives Canada: (a) what were the total accessions of (i) government records, (ii) private records in each year since 2000, inclusive, giving the total number of fonds accessioned, and the total amount of material, distinguishing textual, audio-visual, photographic, documentary art, electronic, and other records; and (b) how many unsolicited offers of donations of private records has Library and Archives Canada received in each year since 2000, and in particular (i) how many offers were accepted, (ii) what was the general nature or subject-matter of each such donation, (iii) what was the total amount of material, distinguishing textual, audio-visual, photographic, documentary art, electronic, and other records, (iv) how many such offers were declined, giving the reason for each?

  • Response (Tabled: September 17, 2012)
    PDF, 345 KB

Q-696 — May 24, 2012 — Ms. Foote (Random—Burin—St. George’s) — With regard to Library and Archives Canada (LAC), how many requests has LAC received from Senators, Members of Parliament, or their offices or staff representatives, since January 1, 2006, for: (a) research materials; (b) access to published library materials; and (c) access to archival materials?

Q-695 — May 24, 2012 — Ms. Foote (Random—Burin—St. George’s) — With regard to Library and Archives Canada (LAC): (a) what is the nature of LAC’s participation, if any, in the 2012 Canadian Library Association’s conference of May 30 to June 2, 2012, in Ottawa, Ontario; (b) how many LAC (i) librarians, (ii) other staff members attended the conference; and (c) if no LAC librarians or staff attended the conference, why was this the case?

Q-693 — May 24, 2012 — Mr. Regan (Halifax West) — With regard to the National Archival Development Program: (a) what is the name and location of each organization which has received a grant or contribution under this program since March 31, 1999; (b) what was the amount of each grant or contribution; (c) what was the purpose, scope, or intent of the work to be carried out using the funds provided by the grant or contribution; and (d) what is the rationale for the termination of the program?

  • Response (Tabled: September 17, 2012)
    PDF, 3.27 MB

Q-688 — May 16, 2012 — Mr. Nantel (Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher) — With regard to Library and Archives Canada (LAC): (a) for each fiscal year from 2009-2010 to 2012-2013 inclusively, what was, or is projected to be, the number of items of archival material digitized by LAC for reference and access purposes; (b) for each fiscal year from 2009-2010 to 2012-2013 inclusively, what percentage of LAC’s collection was, or is projected to be, digitized; (c) for each fiscal year from 2009-2010 to 2012-2013 inclusively, what were, or are projected to be, LAC’s internal costs for digitization and digital access; (d) for each fiscal year from 2009-2010 to 2012-2013 inclusively, what was, or is projected to be, the expected number of born digital records, both government and private, that will be acquired by LAC; and (e) for each fiscal year from 2009-2010 to 2012-2013 inclusively, what was, or is projected to be, the number of analogue records, both government and private, acquired by LAC?

  • Response (Tabled: September 17, 2012)
    PDF, 147 KB

Q-678 — May 11, 2012 — Mr. Goodale (Wascana) — With respect to the National Archival Development Program: (a) what is the name and location of each organization which received a grant or contribution under this program since March 31, 1999; (b) what was the amount of each such grant or contribution; (c) what was the purpose, scope, or intent of the work to be carried out using the funds provided by that grant or contribution; and (d) what is the rationale for the termination of the program?

  • Response (Tabled: September 17, 2012)
    PDF, 4.7 MB

Q-676 — May 11, 2012 — Ms. Sgro (York West) — With regard to the government’s funding for the Community Access Program (CAP) that ended on March 31, 2012: (a) how many access sites will be affected; (b) what communities will be affected; (c) how many Canadians will lose access to the program; (d) what is the demographic makeup of the clients who used the sites; (e) what is the demographic makeup of the population that otherwise has limited access to the internet and will be most affected by the termination of the program; (f) how many Canadians will lose their employment as a result of the termination of the program; and (g) what is the total dollar amount that the government intends to save by terminating the program?

Q-665 — May 8, 2012 — Mr. Bélanger (Ottawa—Vanier) — With regard to Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2012, within the Heritage portfolio: (a) with respect to Library and Archives Canada, (i) where will positions be cut, broken down by branch, by division and by role, (ii) which programs and which services will be cut or eliminated; and (b) with respect to the Federal Libraries Consortium, (i) which federal libraries will be cut or eliminated, broken down by location, (ii) what will be done with the collections formerly maintained by any eliminated federal libraries?

  • Response (Tabled: September 17, 2012)
    PDF, 299 KB

Q-658 — May 4, 2012 — Ms. Perreault (Montcalm) — With regard to the Initiative for Equitable Library Access: (a) what is the amount of government spending in the past five fiscal years, broken down by year; (b) what strategy did Library and Archives Canada develop to meet the long-term library and information access needs of Canadians with print disabilities; (c) did Library and Archives Canada present the government with a final report on the outcomes and recommendations of the Initiative and, if so, what is its title and date of submission; and (d) when and for what reasons did the government’s participation in the Initiative end?

  • Response (Tabled: June 20, 2012)
    PDF, 230 KB

About Written Questions

If a question intended to obtain information from the Ministry involves a lengthy, detailed or technical response, a written question must be placed on the Order Paper. A Member must give 48 hours’ written notice of his or her intention to submit such a question. Each Member may have a maximum of four questions on the Order Paper at any one time. Certain restrictions exist on the form and content of written questions. These are based on the Standing Orders and on practice.

The Member giving notice of a written question may request an answer within 45 days and may also ask that oral answers be provided to no more than three of his or her questions on the Order Paper. Such questions are identified with an asterisk in the Order Paper.

Source: http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/House/compendium/web-content/c_g_questions-e.htm#3