Finance Committee on Feb. 10th, 2009

[David Miller]

Under normal circumstances the horizontal items would represent an initiative that involves more than one program of the government; therefore, to provide parliamentarians with an idea of how this all fits together, they identify each of the partners involved with it.

During the approval process, for example, all of those departments would come forward together for cabinet approval or Treasury Board approval. To maintain that, they're presented as a separate table at the beginning of the supplementary estimates.

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Thank you.

We'll go to Mr. Mulcair.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good day, gentlemen.

First of all, I'm curious about the percentage of women who hold senior positions in the federal Department of Finance.

[David Miller]

Unfortunately, I do not have that particular number or category, but it is substantial. We can provide it to you.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

In addition to the numbers, I would also like to see some evidence of this. After all, my name is Thomas. I tend to be rather skeptical when all I see is men. That often seems to be the case at the Department of Finance.

My first question is for you, Mr. Miller. In your opening statement, you listed the department's responsibilities, specifically, the formulation of policies, tax and tariff laws. Because this is closely related to requests that you make, is there a policy that the public could consult to find out when tariff increases are allowed?

You know as well as I do that you formulate the government's overall tax policies, while Revenue Canada is left to implement them. Quite often, the temptation to increase licensing fees, permit costs and other types of taxes charged by the government is very great. Is there a set policy in place that each department and agency follows to determine which approach to take when contemplating increases to tariffs or other types of taxes?

[Paul Rochon]

Yes, there is such a policy in place. It is administered by Treasury Board. That's all I can tell you.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Miller did acknowledge in his statement that your department was responsible for developing tax and tariff policy.

[Paul Rochon]

That's correct.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

I don't mean customs tariffs, but rather all taxes and tariffs that the government charges, whether for a permit or some other thing. I'm talking about tariff policy in the broader sense of the word.

[Paul Rochon]

I understand. This policy is indeed the responsibility of the Treasury Board.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

It is not your department's responsibility. Therefore, you have no opinion on the subject.

[Paul Rochon]

We are responsible for administering the customs policy.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Every department and agency that might be contemplating an increase in permit or licence fees has to seek Treasury Board approval then.

[Paul Rochon]

Yes.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Thank you for clarifying that for me.

Getting back to Mr. Pacetti's question, I do not believe we got an answer to the question. Having worn both hats, I'm fully aware of the difference between a senior government official like yourself, and an elected representative like myself. I won't bore you with purely partisan remarks. After all, it is important for us to understand who makes the decisions to spend the taxpayer's dollars to promote a program that is identified with a political party.

Has a new policy been in place over the past three years? If not, is the practice of purchasing advertising, as required pursuant to these estimates, in line with a policy that has been in place since the previous government?

[Paul Rochon]

Jean-Michel, perhaps you could answer that question.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Good day, sir.

[Jean-Michel Catta]

Good morning. My name is Jean-Michel Catta and I am the General Director of the Consultations and Communications Branch at the Department of Finance.

To answer your question, there are two components to the government's advertising policy. Firstly, at the beginning of the fiscal year, the Privy Council allocates advertising budgets to the departments, having decided which particular program the government wishes to promote this year. The funds are then allocated to the departments so that they can run these advertising programs.

That's precisely what happened in the case of the Department of Finance. Treasury Board allocated funds to the department for these two advertising programs.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

And in the case of the decision to promote a specific item in the government's budget, for example, a program that lets people put aside money in a tax-free account, was this a government decision or a political decision?

[Jean-Michel Catta]

As I said, it was a government decision. The government has a funding envelope for its advertising programs and allocates funds based on its priorities. Departments are then mandated to carry out these programs in accordance with the priorities established. Again, for the Finance Department, the tax-free savings account, or TFSA, was deemed an advertising priority of the government.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

By the administration, or by the political party?

[Jean-Michel Catta]

As far as the Department of Finance was concerned, the request originated from the Privy Council Office.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

I see. Then we're clear on this. Thank you.

Are there rules or standards in place governing the content of ads of this nature? Judging from what we see on television, government agencies, and one agricultural agency in particular, are doing a great deal of advertising these days. This is a very costly exercise.

Are there standards in place governing the content of these advertisements? Some are fairly neutral, while others are clearly intended to stir things up, for reasons unbeknownst to us. For example, the customs agency is running several ads on TV, as if this is going to affect the number of times a person crosses the border between Quebec and Vermont. One has to wonder why taxpayers' money is being spent on this type of advertising.

Is there a guide or objective standards of some kind that the public and elected officials can consult to verify whether these ads comply with the rules or whether their aims are partisan?

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Okay, just a very brief response.