Finance Committee on May 5th, 2010

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Well, we'll change the dynamic here.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Do you have any further questions, Mr. McKay?

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

I don't know if this is of any great significance, but it does strike me as a curiosity. I can't recollect another example of where you take money in 2010 and backdate it to the previous year. I don't know why you do that and I don't know what the implications are of doing that.

Maybe you could ask your political folks what that means.

[Jonathan DeWolfe]

I could clarify one aspect of that. By doing it in 2009-10, and if the budget implementation act passes before June 30, that funding would be available to Genome Canada immediately to start drawing down. It gives them the security of having the funding right away.

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

But it's drawing down moneys you have allocated to a budget for a fiscal year that has already expired.

Does this make any sense?

[Jonathan DeWolfe]

The books on 2009-10 close on June 30, 2010.

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Therefore, does that mean that Genome has already spent their money and you're just backfilling?

[Jonathan DeWolfe]

No.

[Martha Hall Findlay, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

But aren't we talking about our fiscal year?

[Jonathan DeWolfe]

Genome has not spent the money. It's available to them over the next number of years.

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

But only if this gets through by June 30. Is it available for it...?

[Jonathan DeWolfe]

If the funding did not get through by June 30, it would still be available to Genome Canada, but in the next fiscal year.

[Martha Hall Findlay, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Whose fiscal year? The government's?

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Order. Mr. McKay has the floor.

[Jonathan DeWolfe]

Against the government's fiscal year of 2010-11.

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

So they would bump it on to a following year. So that would bump everything down the road by one year, presumably.

[Jonathan DeWolfe]

It would delay funding for Genome Canada.

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

I'm not quite sure I understand the implications of this.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Okay. Thank you, Mr. McKay.

I have Monsieur Mulcair, and then Monsieur Paillé.

Monsieur Mulcair.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

I want to thank the professionals from the Department of Finance who are with us this afternoon. I wouldn't ask this question if the meeting was being broadcast. The last thing I want is to embarrass anyone. The fact remains that, as an elected representative, I am always intrigued by the following situation: it's mainly the Department of Finance that sends people to us. They are very highly qualified and provide us with impeccable answers.

However, it's impossible for us to get the merest answer in French from anyone from the Department of Finance. To rise to your important duties, aren't you required to have some knowledge of French?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

What relevance does this have, Chair?

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Chairman, Mr. Menzies is entitled to his questions and I'm entitle to mine, as an elected member. The Department of Finance systematically sends us people who are incapable of speaking a word of French to us. I said I would never have asked this question if the meeting had been broadcast, but—

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

You are absolutely wrong.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Order, order.

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

You left the room to go do a media scrum. You were answered in French.