Honourable senators, before I start, I’d like to tell my colleagues that I’m going to be brief in my speech. I think people are getting tired.

I want to start by thanking Senator LaBoucane-Benson for her comments on Bill C-55. As the critic of the bill, I have a few other comments.

This bill is requesting parliamentary approval of $20 billion in voted expenditures. When we think about billions of dollars, I think we’re getting used to the big numbers, but it’s $20 billion in voted authorities for 26 government departments and agencies. The bill itself is supported by the Supplementary Estimates (A) document, which provides some limited information on what the money will be used for.

This request for $20 billion is significantly higher than the $8.8 billion requested in last year’s Supplementary Estimates (A). Of the $20 billion requested in this bill, $4.4 billion is for Budget 2023 initiatives — my colleague outlined what they are, so I won’t repeat that — and $1 billion is for Budget 2022 initiatives.

This bill is the third appropriation act for this year. We often refer to appropriation acts as “supply bills” because they effectively supply the government with money to operate and carry out government programs.

The first appropriation act for this year was for interim supply, which approved about 40% of the money identified in the Main Estimates. This provided the government with money to operate until the end of June. This first appropriation act, Bill C-44, was enacted on March 30 of this year. Now we have just debated the second appropriation act for this year, Bill C-54, with the remainder of the Main Estimates. Once it receives Royal Assent, the government will have the authority to spend $108.7 billion.

Since the first two appropriation acts have already provided the government with the authority to spend $198 billion, this appropriation act for $20 billion will increase the spending authority to $218 billion. However, as I have indicated many times previously — they say you have to repeat something eight times before people really get it — the $218 billion requested in the first three appropriation acts does not include all of the government’s spending. The government also has the authority under numerous other acts to spend, and we refer to these amounts as “statutory expenditures.” Statutory expenditures for this year are currently estimated to be $236 billion, which is in addition to the $218 billion that will be approved by the appropriation acts. There is also authority for the Employment Insurance benefits, estimated at $24 billion, and the Canada Child Benefit, which is another $25 billion. When you add up all these amounts, the government’s estimate of what it will spend this year amounts to $490 billion.

Last year in Supplementary Estimates (A), the government estimated that it would spend $452 billion during the entire year, but it actually spent more than the $452 billion it estimated. It spent $470 billion. This year in Supplementary Estimates (A), the government estimates it will spend $490 billion during the entire year. However, we are only three months into the year, and as each financial document is released, the numbers go in one direction — up — so I expect that expenses will exceed $500 billion this year — or a staggering half a trillion dollars.

I will now talk about a couple of the departments requesting funding. The first is the Department of Indigenous Services. Of the $20 billion requested in this bill, the Department of Indigenous Services is requesting $4.8 billion, of which $4.4 billion will support a final settlement agreement related to the First Nations Child and Family Services program and Jordan’s Principle. It will also support the continued delivery of immediate measures required by the tribunal orders and items agreed to as part of the Agreement-in-Principle on Long-Term Reform of the program and Jordan’s Principle.

Honourable senators may recall that I have spoken many times on this recent agreement between the federal government, the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society to compensate the estimated 300,000 Indigenous children and their families for not being properly funded under child welfare services on reserves. Funding under this agreement is estimated at $23 billion. In addition, child and family services provided by the department are open-ended as the cost and extent of services are dependent on need. Based on the information provided in the Supplementary Estimates (A) document, it appears additional funding is being requested for this program.

Of the $20 billion being requested in this bill, $8 billion is being requested by the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs. Of that, $4 billion is to be used to implement “the expedited resolution strategy for agricultural benefit claims” relating to Treaties 4, 5, 6, and 10.

Another $2.5 billion of the $8 billion being requested is for the settlement of specific claims. Specific claims settlements and tribunal awards, valued at up to $150 million, are paid from the Specific Claims Settlement Fund. The $2.5 billion requested in this bill will be used to replenish the fund based on anticipated payments for negotiated settlements and tribunal awards.

The department is also requesting $825 million for out-of-court settlements to ensure that the department is in a position to quickly implement negotiated settlements should agreements be reached.

In reviewing funding requests from the department, there are numerous requests for funding for claims, agreements and treaties, which departmental officials say are maintained in a database for tracking. In terms of claims alone — and I’ve said this before — officials estimate there are 500 of these, which makes it very difficult for us to provide oversight.

Our Finance Committee will continue its review of funding for claims agreements and treaties in the fall.

Of the $20 billion being requested in this bill, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is requesting $996 million for the Housing Accelerator Fund. The Housing Accelerator Fund was established by Budget 2022, which indicated that more housing needs to be built and changes are therefore required to the systems that are preventing the building of more housing. The government’s objective is to incentivize the cities and towns that are stepping up to get more housing built while also ensuring that municipalities can get the support they need to modernize and build new homes.

Budget 2022 provided $4 billion over five years for the Housing Accelerator Fund, and it was supposed to start last year. The fund is supposed to create 100,000 net new housing units over the next five years. The focus will be on increasing supply, including a needed increase to the supply of affordable housing.

Last year’s budget allocated $150 million to the fund and $925 million this year. There is no explanation as to why the fund was not launched last year, as indicated in last year’s budget. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s website, the fund will be launched this summer.

As I have indicated many times, statutory expenditures are expenditures that are not included in an appropriation act. Rather, such expenditures are approved by other acts or statutes, hence the term “statutory expenditures.”

Supplementary Estimates (A) provide updated forecasts of the statutory expenditures of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, the largest increase being $790 million for the AgriInsurance Program. Senator LaBoucane-Benson also mentioned that, so I won’t repeat what she said.

The forecasted statutory expenditures of the Old Age Security program have been decreased by $568 million, from $58 billion to $57.5 billion, based upon updated forecasts of the average monthly rate, the number of beneficiaries and benefit repayment amounts.

Finally, the Department of Finance has increased the statutory expenditures of the estimated interest on unmatured debt by $737 million, which will bring it to $33.6 billion. However, I expect further increases will be included in Supplementary Estimates (B) and (C), since Budget 2023 forecast $4.3 billion for public debt charges this year. However, the Bank of Canada recently increased its benchmark interest rate to 4.75% and may increase rates again this year.

The government expects to borrow an additional $63 billion this year, and, as I have just indicated, it estimated debt-servicing costs to be $43.9 billion this year. However, with the increase by the Bank of Canada of its benchmark interest rate, that $43.9 billion is now expected to increase. But the government has not disclosed a new estimate of public debt charges.

In the area of personnel, Bill C-55 includes $708 million for personnel spending, which will increase the total amount to date for personnel spending this year to $54 billion. It is estimated that personnel spending in 2022-23 will be about $68 billion. When the public accounts for last year are released in the fall, we will have a more accurate number. To put it into perspective, personnel spending in 2016-17 was $40 billion, so the increase in personnel spending from $40 billion over a period of six years to $68 billion last year is 70%.

Over the same six-year period, the federal public service increased from 335,000 full-time equivalents to 413,000 full-time equivalents. In 2022-23, the number of full-time equivalents is expected to be at 428,000.

Honourable senators, this bill, Bill C-55, and its supporting document, the Supplementary Estimates (A), provide a snapshot of planned government spending at this point in time and for this fiscal year. But we really need to think about the bills we’re debating here today. We’re debating the Main Estimates, Bill C-54, Supplementary Estimates (A), Bill C-55 and the budget bill. So in one day, we’re debating three spending bills.

First, the government likes to spend, so that’s one explanation. However, I have spoken about this many times, but I didn’t include it today: There is something wrong with the processes in the government for putting forward their requests for spending. We see today that we have a request for the Main Estimates, we have a request for Supplementary Estimates (A) and a request for the budget bill. It demonstrates that there must surely be a better way to put all this financial information together rather than doing it in bits and pieces, as it is being done.

Additionally, new financial documents are expected in the fall, when we return. Specifically, we’ll be getting Supplementary Estimates (B), then we’ll get more spending in the fall fiscal update, and then we’ll get the public accounts for last year. We’ll be waiting a while for that. Then, interspersed among all of those, I am sure there will be other bills to approve more spending.

So we will continue our review of government spending, but I would really encourage the government to take a look at revising the estimates and their spending processes.

In closing, I would like to thank my committee colleagues again for their work and support: our committee chair, Senator Mockler; our deputy chair, Senator Forest; our Committe clerk and analysts and the many staff who ensure our meetings run smoothly and are productive.

I thank my Senate colleagues for listening to this presentation. Thank you.