Evidence of meeting #14 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was money.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Derek Lee
Sure. But when something goes up on the website, is it going to come from PCO, or are you not sure yet?
12:05 p.m.
Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Liaison Secretariat for Macroeconomic Policy, Privy Council Office
We would have been the ones who put it up in that sense, but you shouldn't think that PCO is necessarily writing all of the content—
12:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Derek Lee
You're not necessarily the author. For this purpose, we'll look to PCO.
Next, regarding the quarterly reports, who is responsible for the quarterly reports described in the amendment to the budget implementation bill?
12:05 p.m.
Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Liaison Secretariat for Macroeconomic Policy, Privy Council Office
The reports are tabled by the Minister of Finance. I think in the first instance you would look to the finance department, unless somebody has some protestations.
12:05 p.m.
Liberal
12:05 p.m.
Director, Fiscal Policy Division, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, Department of Finance
Our minister has tabled them.
12:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Derek Lee
That's great.
Then there was a House motion adopted, which we would of course take interest in, because it was adopted by the House. I'm not so sure the government feels it is obligated to subscribe to it. That was a motion introduced by the Liberal finance critic, Mr. McCallum. Does that have any traction with government disclosure procedures at this time?
12:10 p.m.
Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Liaison Secretariat for Macroeconomic Policy, Privy Council Office
I think our plans for disclosure would be set out in the first report, which is to come back to Canadians in June.
12:10 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Derek Lee
So the adoption of that motion has not altered the government's disclosure or accountability plans at this point, to your knowledge?
12:10 p.m.
Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Liaison Secretariat for Macroeconomic Policy, Privy Council Office
I don't think it has.
12:10 p.m.
Liberal
12:10 p.m.
Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Liaison Secretariat for Macroeconomic Policy, Privy Council Office
And I don't want to speak for something that may be a motion, but as I understand it right now, we're where we were when the March report was tabled.
12:10 p.m.
Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Liaison Secretariat for Macroeconomic Policy, Privy Council Office
And that was before the motion, obviously.
12:10 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Derek Lee
Thank you.
Lastly, about two weeks ago the Auditor General wrote a letter to the government, directed to the Secretary of the Treasury Board, Mr. Wouters. In that letter she urged the government to take note of some suggestions she had made. So to whom would I look for a subscription to those recommendations or suggestions of the Auditor General?
12:10 p.m.
Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management Sector, Treasury Board Secretariat
Treasury Board.
12:10 p.m.
Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management Sector, Treasury Board Secretariat
Yes.
12:10 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Derek Lee
Okay, that's great.
The last question has to do with the so-called lists. This has been kicked around so much, I can hear the word “lists” echoing down all the corridors of Parliament Hill. There are actually lists in chapter 3, and there's quite a lot of detail in the lists. They run from about page 138 to about 143.
I realize that the departments represented here don't necessarily oversee all of that spending, but there is a whole lot of spending, millions and billions, in essentially infrastructure right across the whole country.
Can I take it that we can use these lists usefully in our scrutiny of spending efficacy and timing?
12:10 p.m.
Director, Fiscal Policy Division, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, Department of Finance
Are the lists you're referring to the lists of programs announced in the budget?
12:10 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Derek Lee
No, these are federal infrastructure projects. For example, there's VIA Rail funding, and investment in the Keewatin Railway; and there's $130 million for Parks Canada to twin a section of the Trans-Canada Highway through Banff.
12:10 p.m.
Director, Fiscal Policy Division, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, Department of Finance
My apologies. There are some examples in there of projects that could be covered under the programs. Those are examples of the types of projects that might be considered under the broader envelope of the program.
12:10 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Derek Lee
Yes. It's not very sexy. For example, there's a Highway 39 truck bypass in Estevan, Saskatchewan. But if you live in Estevan, it's a big deal. It's shovels in the ground. So to whom do we look for that?
12:10 p.m.
Director, Fiscal Policy Division, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, Department of Finance
Again, if you were looking for specific projects under a larger program, such as under the infrastructure stimulus fund, you would want to go to Transport Canada or Infrastructure Canada, who would be able to discuss specific projects with you.
12:10 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Derek Lee
Okay, so in each case we're going to have to look at the project and figure out which department would—