Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
National Finance
Issue 32 - Fourteenth Report of the Committee
OTTAWA, Thursday, March 25, 1999
The Standing Senate Committee on National Finance has the honour to present its
FOURTEENTH REPORT
Your committee, to which were referred the 1999-2000 Estimates has, in obedience to the Order of Reference of Wednesday, March 4, 1999, examined the said estimates and herewith presents its interim report.
The 1999-2000 Estimates were tabled in the Senate on 2 March 1999, and referred for review to the National Finance Committee. As is customary with this committee, a meeting were arranged for the initial review of the Estimates. On Wednesday evening, 24 March 1997, officials of the Treasury Board appeared before the committee and answered questions of concern to members of the committee.
There are four components to the government's estimates. They include the PART I, which provides an overview of federal spending by summarising the key elements of the Main Estimates and highlighting the major changes. The PART II, which is traditionally referred to as the Blue Book, directly supports the Appropriation Act. It lists in detail the resources that individual departments and agencies require for the upcoming fiscal year. It also identifies the spending authorities and the amounts to be included in subsequent appropriations.
The Report on Plans and Priorities provides additional details on each of the departments and agencies in terms of more strategically oriented planning and results. It focuses on outcomes expected from government spending activities. Finally, the Departmental Performance Report provides a focus on results-based accountability by reporting on accomplishments achieved against the performance expectations and results commitments as set out in the spring Report on Plans and Priorities.
THE EXPENDITURE PLAN AN OVERVIEW
The February 1999 Budget provides for planned expenditures of $153.7 billion, of which $42.5 billion is for public debt charges and $111.2 billion is for program spending. It should be noted that the Estimates would differ from the total budgetary expenditure forecast presented by the Minister of Finance in several ways:
1. a number of items do not appear in the Estimates because of timing in the Budget decisions or because they depend on the passage of separate legislation;
2. the Estimates do not include funds that are set aside within the Expenditure Plan for operating contingency purposes or for items that are still subject to Parliamentary or Treasury Board approval; and
3. some spending authorities in the Estimates are expected to lapse.
TABLE I
The Expenditure Plan and Main Estimates, 1999-2000
(in millions of dollars)
Public debt charges 42,500
Elderly Benefits 23,500
Employment Insurance 13,400
Fiscal Equalization 9,288
Canada Health and Social Transfers 12,500
Operating and capital subsidies 30,072
Other transfers and subsidies 17,548
Other Statutory Obligations 2,458
Total Main Estimates 151,266
Adjustments to reconcile with Budget 2,434
Total budgetary expenditures 153,700
Source: 1999-2000 Main Estimates,$; Part I, p. 1-3.
Of the $151.6 billion set out in the Main Estimates, $105.8 billion, or 69.8 percent is statutory expenditures.
THE HEARINGS
In his opening remarks, Mr. Richard Neville outlined some significant changes in the Estimates, and highlighted several initiatives. These numbers elicited considerable discussion between the members of the committee and the officials of the Treasury Board. In particular he focused on the nature of the interim supply needs of the federal government.
As is customary, your committee expects, at a later date, to continue its examination of the 1999-2000 Estimates
Respectfully submitted,
TERRY STRATTON
Chairman