Financial Administration Act

Moved second reading of Bill C-230, An Act to amend the Financial Administration Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (debt forgiveness registry).

He said: Honourable senators, I rise today as sponsor of Bill C-230, An Act to amend the Financial Administration Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (debt forgiveness registry).

Before turning to the substance of the bill, I would like to recognize the work of my colleague in the other place member of Parliament Adam Chambers. Throughout his time in Parliament, Mr. Chambers has consistently demonstrated a strong interest in public accountability, government transparency and the stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

This legislation reflects those priorities. It is the product of considerable effort and persistence on his part, and I would like to acknowledge the work he has done in bringing this bill before Parliament.

While members and senators may ultimately arrive at different conclusions on particular pieces of legislation, I think we all can agree that it is important to recognize thoughtful efforts that seek to strengthen transparency and public confidence in government institutions. Bill C-230 is one such effort. It is rooted in a simple principle: Canadians deserve transparency when significant financial decisions affecting public resources are made.

That principle is anything but controversial, so most Canadians would be surprised to learn that while governments regularly report on spending programs, grants and contributions, it can be far more difficult for an ordinary citizen to determine when millions of dollars owed to the Crown have been forgiven or written off.

Yet, that is exactly what has happened in recent years. Billions of dollars in debts and obligations owed to the federal government have been written off or forgiven. The decision to do so may very well have been justified. In many cases, they likely were. However, the average Canadian would be hard pressed to figure out who benefited, how much public money was involved or under what authority those decisions were made.

According to publicly available government figures, in a single fiscal year the federal government wrote off, forgave, remitted or waived approximately $18 billion in debts and obligations. While information about these decisions exists within government records, it is often scattered across multiple reports and databases, making meaningful public scrutiny difficult.

Transparency should not require citizens to sift through volumes of reports, tables and disclosures in the hope of finding information that ought to be readily accessible. Some may point out that this information is already available, and in some cases it is. Governments publish public accounts annually, departments issue annual reports, and various disclosures exist across the federal system. The issue is not whether information exists somewhere; the issue is whether it is meaningfully accessible.

As MP Chambers noted when introducing this legislation, transparency is not achieved simply because information exists within government records. True transparency requires that the information be organized, searchable and reasonably accessible to the public. Canadians should not have to navigate multiple reports and databases to determine whether millions of dollars owed to the Crown have been forgiven.

Bill C-230 seeks to address that gap. This legislation would require the President of the Treasury Board to establish and maintain a public online registry containing information related to debts, obligations and claims of $2 million or more that have been remitted, forgiven, written off or waived by the Government of Canada.

The registry would identify the recipient, the amount involved, the authority under which the debt arose and the authority under which it was forgiven. It would also indicate the fiscal year in which the decision occurred.

Importantly, the bill contains safeguards to protect confidential, personal and sensitive information. Where information must be withheld, the registry would indicate the basis for doing so. In short, the bill strikes an appropriate balance between transparency and legitimate privacy concerns.

Honourable colleagues, Parliament’s most fundamental responsibility is stewardship of the public purse. The relationship between Parliament and public finances is not a modern concept. It is one of the foundations of parliamentary democracy. The principle that governments must account for the collection and use of public funds predates Confederation by centuries.

Canadians entrust governments with significant powers. Governments collect taxes, borrow money and allocate public resources. With those powers comes an obligation to be transparent and accountable. Bill C-230 is consistent with that long-standing parliamentary tradition.

Parliament routinely receives detailed information about government spending, yet decisions to not collect money owed to the Crown can have financial consequences similar to direct expenditures. Whether money is spent or forgiven, public resources are affected. Canadians are therefore entitled to know when significant debts are remitted, waived or written off and under what authority those decisions are made.

It is important to emphasize that transparency should never be viewed through a partisan lens. Whether a government is Conservative, Liberal or of any other political stripe, the principle remains the same. Canadians should be able to understand how significant financial decisions are made, no matter who is in power. Governments change. The public interest in transparency and the right to know do not.

There are circumstances where governments may reasonably conclude that a debt is uncollectible. There may be legal settlements, insolvencies, administrative errors, extraordinary economic events or other circumstances that justify debt relief. Nothing in Bill C-230 questions the legitimacy of those decisions. The bill recognizes that governments require flexibility.

What it asks is that, once those decisions have been made, Canadians have the opportunity to see the results for themselves. This bill does not interfere with government decisions leading to that determination. It does not prohibit governments from exercising discretion. It does not eliminate existing authorities. It does not require governments to justify their decisions to a tribunal or obtain parliamentary approval before acting.

What it does require, colleagues, is transparency after the fact. That distinction is important.

Bill C-230 is not about preventing governments from governing. It is about ensuring Canadians can see how those powers are being exercised.

Transparency serves several important purposes. First, it strengthens public confidence. Citizens are more likely to trust public institutions when they can clearly see how decisions are being made. Second, transparency promotes consistency. When decisions are visible, governments are naturally encouraged to apply policies fairly and consistently. Third, transparency improves parliamentary oversight. As senators, we are regularly asked to review spending proposals, estimates and fiscal plans involving billions of dollars in public resources. Yet, a complete understanding of the government’s financial position requires more than knowing where money is spent. It also requires understanding where money owed to the Crown is no longer expected to be collected. This registry would help Parliament and Canadians obtain a more complete picture of federal financial management.

Regardless of one’s political views, there is significant public interest in government spending, government borrowing and government financial management. Without information, accountability becomes difficult. Without accountability, public trust suffers.

Recent reporting has highlighted instances where a relatively small number of corporate entities accounted for more than a billion dollars in debt writeoffs and other forgiven obligations. Whether one agrees or disagrees with those decisions is beside the point. Canadians are entitled to know when substantial sums owed to the government — to Canadians — are no longer to be collected.

During committee study in the other place, parliamentarians amended the bill to increase the reporting threshold from the original proposal of $1 million to $2 million. That change further reinforces the targeted nature of the legislation.

The registry would not capture routine administrative adjustments or minor settlements. Instead, it would focus exclusively on significant transactions involving substantial amounts of public money, ensuring transparency while avoiding unnecessary administrative burdens.

I also note that the registry would be updated in conjunction with the tabling of public accounts, creating a predictable and manageable reporting framework.

As honourable senators know, public confidence in institutions cannot be taken for granted. Across democratic societies, citizens increasingly expect governments to operate transparently and accountably. They expect public institutions to justify their decisions. They expect access to information.

These expectations are not unreasonable. Indeed, they are healthy. Transparency should not be viewed as a burden; it should be viewed as a strength.

What strikes me most about Bill C-230 is how modest it is. It does not expand the powers of government. It does not create a new regulator. It does not establish a new bureaucracy to oversee financial decisions, and it does not create additional approval processes. It simply requires that information regarding significant debt forgiveness decisions can be collected and reported on in one place and made available to Canadians. That is a modest and reasonable requirement.

Should honourable colleagues agree to send this bill to committee, witnesses will have the opportunity to examine whether the $2 million threshold is appropriate, whether additional safeguards are required and whether the proposed reporting framework achieves the right balance between transparency and administrative practicality. That is exactly the kind of scrutiny that committee study is intended to provide.

This bill does not seek to shame businesses, reopen settled matters or restrict the government’s ability to exercise discretion. Governments will continue to make decisions regarding insolvencies, settlements and uncollectible debts. Bill C-230 simply ensures that when those decisions involve substantial amounts of public money, Canadians can readily see that they occurred.

At its heart, this legislation asks a simple question: When millions of dollars owed to the Government of Canada are written off, forgiven, remitted or waived, should Canadians be able to know about it? I believe the answer is yes.

For those reasons, colleagues, I am pleased to sponsor this legislation and encourage honourable senators to support Bill C-230 at second reading and refer it to committee for further study.

Thank you.