Thank you, Minister.
The estimates are tabled in the House of Commons by the president of the Treasury Board. They're made up of three parts. The first part is the government expense plan. This plan highlights an overview of the federal spending and summarizes the relationship between the key elements in the main estimates and the current expense plan. That's part I.
Part II is the main estimates. The main estimates are what support the Appropriation Act. They identify the spending authorities in the votes and the amounts to be included in subsequent appropriation bills. Parliament will be asked to approve these votes to enable the government to proceed with its spending plans.
Parts I and II of the main estimates are tabled concurrently on or before the first of March.
Part III, which contains the departmental expenditure plans, is divided into two parts: the report on plans and priorities and the departmental performance plans. In the report on plans and priorities, individual expenditure plans are elaborated on, and departments and agencies provide more detail with respect to the level of activities and contain information on strategic outcomes, initiatives, planned results, and links to the resource requirements over a three-year period. These documents are normally tabled in the fall.
So that's sometimes the difference between the contents of the main estimates and what you would find in the report on plans and priorities.