48 Elizabeth II, A.D. 1999, Canada

Journals of the Senate

Issue 120 - Appendix "B"

Tuesday, February 16, 1999
2:00 p.m.

The Honourable Gildas L. Molgat, Speaker

TUESDAY, March 16, 1999

The Standing Senate Committee on National Finance has the honour to present its

ELEVENTH REPORT

Your Committee, to which were referred the 1998-99 Estimates has, in obedience to the Order of Reference of Wednesday, March 18, 1998, examined the said estimates and herewith presents its final report. This report is preceded by an interim report on the Main Estimates and by three reports on Supplementary Estimates.

The 1998-99 Estimates were tabled in the Senate on 18 March 1998, and referred for review to the National Finance Committee. The initial review began on Wednesday evening, 25 March 1998. At that meeting, Mr. Ovid Jackson, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board, accompanied by his officials, appeared before the Committee and answered questions of concern to members of the Committee. As is customary with this Committee, subsequent meetings were arranged with the officials of the Treasury Board and select federal departments to obtain additional, and possibly more detailed information to members' questions. On March 26, 1998 your Committee submitted its Interim Report on the Main Estimates 1998-1999.

As is often the case the government seeks further appropriations throughout the fiscal year and the Committee has reviewed these requests for additional funding. In particular the Committee held hearings in June 1998 to examine the Supplementary Estimates "A" 1998-99. A report on that work was submitted on June 15, 1998. Our hearings in November 1998 led the tabling of a Report on Supplementary Estimates "B" 1998-99 on December 3, 1998. Recent hearings in March 1999 are covered in our Report on Supplementary Estimates "C" 1998-99 that was presented earlier today.

In addition to its general examination of the Estimates for 1998-1999, your Committee also examines other issues not usually dealt with elsewhere in Parliament. In Fiscal 1998-99, your Committee completed a special study of retention and compensation issues in the Public Service and tabled a separate report on that work in February 1999.

The Main Estimates 1998-1999 provided for planned expenditures of $145.5 billion, of which $42.4 billion required voted appropriations. Additional funding was sought in subsequent Supplementary Estimates, with Supplementary Estimates "A", 1998-99 requiring an additional $1.3 billion in appropriations. Supplementary Estimates "B" sought approval for $5.3 billion in extra spending and Supplementary Estimates "C" added another $1.5 billion to government expenditures in 1998-99. Together these budget estimates along with statutory items bring total planned federal spending for 1998-1999 to $153.5 billion.

Over the year in which your Committee examined the federal government's spending plans, its members raised numerous questions. Their interests included, but were not limited to issues surrounding the Swiss Air Flight crash recovery efforts; the cost and efforts of federal agencies to provide emergency assistance in times of disasters; and the granting practices of the Canadian International Development Agency. Members also examined the extent of Canada's on-going obligations to provide financial assistance to countries and international agencies; the role and activities of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs; and the federal government's efforts to deal with the Year 2000 compliance issue. Members of the Committee were very satisfied with the effort of the Treasury Board officials to provided clear and complete answers to all questions that were raised during the examination of the Estimates in 1998-99.

Respectfully submitted,

TERRY STRATTON

Chairman