Evidence of meeting #33 for Canadian Heritage in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was cbc.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
All right. So it was their decision to take it from the $60 million. Is that correct?
4:45 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs, Department of Canadian Heritage
Not quite. It just happens to be the last....
If you owed me an amount of money in a first transaction, and we were doing a second transaction and you owed me money, it would be easier for us to do the set-off on the second transaction. That's all this does.
It's because the clawback is against the entire package of the appropriation, but because there was this last....
I'm not an accountant, so I can describe it in non-accounting terms, right?
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
4:50 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs, Department of Canadian Heritage
It's the adjustment that occurs. The $60 million was simply an opportunity to do the set-off at that point.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
It's certainly not an opportunity for them. They have to cut $13 million in programming.
4:50 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs, Department of Canadian Heritage
Well, everyone's like that. You see, the old rule used to be that any time salary negotiations occurred under a collective agreement, Treasury Board would raise everybody's appropriation. That's the rule that changed. Now every department has to, through gains in productivity, whatever other internal decisions they make--
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
They're not a department. They have to increase anyway.
4:50 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs, Department of Canadian Heritage
They're subject to the same rules.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Michael Chong
Okay, I'm going to try to explain this, because we've been talking about it for 15 minutes.
In the spring of 2009, the budget allocated a $13 million increase for the 2010 salary budget for the CBC. So in budget 2009, the government gave the CBC $13 million for next year's overall salary budget at the CBC. Subsequent to that decision to give the CBC an extra $13 million for 2010 salaries, the government decided to freeze all budgets across the entire government at 2009 budget levels. Because of that, the $13 million was no longer necessary.
It doesn't mean people's salaries aren't increasing; it simply means the global envelope for salaries isn't increasing. Therefore, there's an extra $13 million that the CBC was given in the 2009 budget for 2010, that now can be used toward the $60 million they need.
That's all that's going on. It's a simple accounting item.
4:50 p.m.
NDP
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Michael Chong
Well, we'd been talking about this for 15 minutes.
We have to end here, because I'm going to quickly call the votes for members.
We have in front of us the following votes under Canadian Heritage: votes 5b, 15b, 40b, 45b, 50b, 55b, 65b, 80b, and 90b.
Seeing no more further debate on these votes, I'm going to call them.
CANADIAN HERITAGE
Department
Vote 5b--The grants listed in the Estimates and contributions..........$31,757,713
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Vote 15b--Payments to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for operating expenditures..........$46,238,911
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Vote 40b--Payments to the Canadian Museum of Civilization for operating and capital expenditures..........$5,812,400
Canadian Museum of Nature
Vote 45b--Payments to the Canadian Museum of Nature for operating and capital expenditures..........$2,794,147
Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission
Vote 50b--Program expenditures..........$2,553,902
Library and Archives of Canada
Vote 55b--Operating expenditures, the grants listed in the Estimates and contributions..........$1
National Arts Centre Corporation
Vote 65b--Payments to the National Arts Centre Corporation for operating expenditures..........$1
National Gallery of Canada
Vote 80b--Payments to the National Gallery of Canada for operating and capital expenditures..........$1,685,898
National Museum of Science and Technology
Vote 90b--Payments to the National Museum of Science and Technology for operating and capital expenditures..........$3,696,472
(Votes 5b, 15b, 40b, 45b, 50b, 55b, 65b, 80b, and 90b agreed to)
Shall the chair report these nine votes under Canadian Heritage to the House?
4:50 p.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Michael Chong
The chair shall do so at the next opportunity.
Thank you very much to our three witnesses for your appearance. We'll suspend here for five minutes to allow us to go to committee business.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Michael Chong
We're coming out of suspension. We have four items of committee business to deal with.
We'll deal with the last item first.
I understand Mr. Galipeau is going to move a motion.
November 30th, 2010 / 4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Royal Galipeau Conservative Ottawa—Orléans, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The motion calls on the committee to approve a total of $10,650 in expense reports for witnesses who have appeared before the committee.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Michael Chong
Mr. Galipeau has moved a motion for a budget of $10,650 for our hearings on private television ownership changes. Is there any debate on this budget amount?
Go ahead, Mr. Angus.
4:55 p.m.
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Just for clarification, don't we normally set the budget at the beginning of our hearings?
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Michael Chong
Yes, we do normally, but the clerk has just prepared it for me today.
We'll have Madame Lavallée.
4:55 p.m.
Bloc
Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC
I understand that we regularly have these types of motions. Usually, I have absolutely nothing against that. Even now, I don't know the exact amount of the expenses, but usually, it's the clerk or the chair that moves this kind of motion.
Why is Mr. Galipeau doing it this time?
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Michael Chong
This is normal procedure. Normally, a member of a committee is supposed to move a motion to adopt a budget. That's the normal process. I know that most committees don't do that, but they aren't following the rules. The rule is that any one of the 11 of you can move to adopt a budget, so I asked Mr. Galipeau to move the motion to adopt the budget.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Royal Galipeau Conservative Ottawa—Orléans, ON
Since I support the arts, I thought it would be fitting for me to move this motion.
4:55 p.m.
Bloc
Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC
You may support the arts, Mr. Galipeau, but earlier, you yelled out “shame” at the artists we were greeting.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Royal Galipeau Conservative Ottawa—Orléans, ON
No. First of all, I did not yell in English, as that's not something I do.