Thank you, Deputy Minister.
I've prepared a short deck, so I'll jump right in.
I'll go to page 2. Today's goal, as our deputy minister mentioned, is to provide committee members with the key changes to our spending authorities.
As committee members will know, the supplementary estimates serve two main purposes. The first one is to seek authority from Parliament to revise the department's spending levels. The second one is to provide Parliament with additional information on changes in the estimated expenditures.
As members are aware, there are three supplementary estimates exercises for this fiscal year, supplementary estimates (A), (B), and (C).
The department did not have any requests under supplementary estimates (A). Supplementary estimates (B) were tabled in Parliament on November 7, and supplementary estimates (C) will be tabled in February 2014.
I will go to page 3.
This page contains an overview of the initial position of the department, from the main estimates up to the votes that are anticipated at this point.
The department is submitting 29 positions altogether for approval, for a total of $118,797 million, which includes statutory appropriations. I will go over the table in order to give you a better idea of where we came from and where we are going.
On the left, there are the votes: vote 1, vote 5 and vote 10. A vote summarizes the financial needs of a department in specific expenditure categories. For instance, under vote 1, you have operating expenditures, that is to say, mainly salaries and operating expenses.
Vote 1 of the main estimates totals $1,119 billion. To that, we add the carry-over from the budget of $56.7 million. Then, you have supplementary estimates (B), which we are discussing today, of $63 million. This brings us to a total of $1.239 billion.
Under vote 5, capital expenditures, for instance for the acquisition of buildings, the main estimates total $360 million. To that, we add the carry-over of $54.5 million. Afterwards, there are the supplementary estimates (B) for $24.5 million, for a total of $439 million.
Finally, there is vote 10, grants and contributions. There are $59 million allocated to that item in the main estimates. To this is added $29.2 million in the supplementary estimates (B), for a total of $88.3 million.
The total before the statutory appropriations is $1.767 billion. The overall total, including statutory appropriations, is $1.898 billion.
Let us now have a look at page 4.
The amount in this year's supplementary estimates, set out in the table on page 3, may be considered a net amount. This amount has three major components.
The total request adds up to a gross amount of $122,322,659.
From that is deducted a sum of $6,210,318, which represents funds that were already frozen in connection with the cuts announced in Budget 2013. This $6-million amount is made up of two sub-elements, the first being the targeted review of expenditures announced in Budget 2013. That was the first year that component was reduced. The total cut for this year is $3.994 million. The second sub-element from the $6-million amount is the department's contribution to reducing travel expenses. That component was also announced in the 2013 budget. All of the departments have to contribute to that effort. The total amount requested was $42.7 million. The contribution of the department in that regard is $2.3 million.
The third amount is made up of funds transfers between votes as well as between departments. All of these transfers represent a net amount of $788,000. Since neither the department nor the minister are authorized to transfer amounts from one vote to another, those transfers must absolutely be approved in this fiscal year.
If we deduct the $6.2 million from the $122.3 million and then add the $788,000, we obtain the sum of $116.9 million, which is found in our table on page 3.
I will now move on to page 5. It provides you with an overview of the main elements in supplementary estimates (B).
The first of these elements is an amount of $46.1 million for the removal of fuel and other pollutants present on the Brigadier General M.G. Zalinski. This is an old American warship which sank in 1946 in Grenville Channel off the coast of British Columbia.
The second amount of $31.9 million is for the renewal of the Pacific Integrated Commercial Fisheries Initiative and the Atlantic Integrated Commercial Fisheries Initiative. Those funds were announced in the federal 2013 budget. $21 million is allocated to the Pacific Initiative and $10.9 million to the Atlantic program. Funding for these two programs was initiated in 2007-2008. The department obtained funding for five years, which was renewed in 2012 for one year, and in 2013 for one more year.
The third amount of $20.5 million is to be used to undertake the integrated engineering phases for three scientific vessels, and one oceanographic Canadian Coast Guard vessel. The three scientific vessels will cost $244 million in total, which is included in the financial framework. As for the oceanographic vessel, it represents an amount of $144 million, which is also reported in the financial framework.
The next amount of $7.3 million is for the improvement of the prevention, preparation and intervention system in case of hydrocarbon leaks from ships. This is a horizontal item, which is to say that several departments are involved. In this particular case, Environment Canada and Transport Canada are involved and receive funds. This program is the first phase of the implementation of the system. Other phases will follow over the next few years.
The next amount of $4.4 million is for the activities involved in protecting the Canadian Great Lakes against the invasion of the Asian carp. This item had been announced in the 2012 budget. The department obtained funding for five years. That includes initiatives such as prevention, intervention and control of the Asian carp.
The following amount of $4 million is allocated to the Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnerships Program. That amount was also announced in the 2013 federal budget. The department obtained $10 million over 2 years, i.e. $4 million this year and $6 million next year. The purpose of this program is to provide support to local projects so as to improve the conservation of recreational fisheries in the country.
The next amount of $2.6 million goes to support the conservation measures for marine ecosystems, an initiative that is better known as Health of the Oceans. That amount was also announced in the federal 2013 budget, and it is also a horizontal item. This year, Environment Canada also obtained funds. The department was granted $23 million over 5 years for that program, which was launched in 2007. It was renewed for one year in Budget 2012 and for one more year in Budget 2013.
The following item may be described as recurring. Every year, we have access to these funds through supplementary estimates (B). This is an amount of $2 million from intellectual property royalties. The department has access to revenue that was generated the previous year, for such things as navigation charts or hydrographic publications.
The next amount of $1.5 million is for planning the acquisition phase for small ships, and search and rescue vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard. The total amount in the financial framework is $487.7 million, and will be used for the acquisition of a maximum of 21 ships. Consequently, 10 search and rescue vessels, and 11 small ships which may be used for scientific pursuits, for instance.
The last item on this page is $1.4 million for the definition phase of the helicopter fleet renewal project. That amount will be used to acquire up to 24 helicopters for the Canadian Coast Guard.
Afterwards, appendix A provides details on the elements I have just discussed and provides explanations on the transfers I spoke to a little earlier in my presentation.
I am available to answer your questions. Thank you.