Finance Committee on May 5th, 2010

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Order, order.

Mr. Mulcair, that may be a fair question to ask of the Department of Finance as a whole, but the officials who are here today are here to respond to parts of the bill specifically. So your question is not concerning a part of the bill.

It may be a valid question to ask the Department of Finance as a whole.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

However, the question has been asked, and the comment counts for every time the Department of Finance appears. I respect your role as Chair, and I'm going to respect your decision.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Okay. Thank you.

Monsieur Paillé.

[Daniel Paillé, Bloc, Hochelaga, QC]

I don't want to take advantage of the last question of the member for Outremont, but the fact remains that I would at least have appreciated getting some answers. I want Mr. Menzies, who is the minister's parliamentary secretary, to know that I have a great deal of respect for the people from the Department of Finance. I was previously an employee in a Department of Finance. When we talk about taxation, financing, finance, we get superb answers. I don't bear you a grudge, but as regards the quality of the answers we've received today, we'll pass.

With regard to the fiscal year, I'm tossing out the following assumption like a life preserver: wouldn't it be that Genome Canada's fiscal year starts later and that, consequently, by making a payment now, we fall into that fiscal year? I'm simply trying to help you.

[Jonathan DeWolfe]

No, that's not what I was trying to get at. The Government of Canada's books close on June 30. That would be, for lack of a better term, the deadline for the BIA to pass, in order for Genome Canada--

[Daniel Paillé, Bloc, Hochelaga, QC]

In the Government of Canada, the fiscal year ends on March 31.

[Jonathan DeWolfe]

That's the end of the fiscal year, that's correct. I'm talking about the closing of the books.

[Daniel Paillé, Bloc, Hochelaga, QC]

Has Genome Canada received an advance on the amount as a result of an assumption that the budget would be adopted? Has the Department of Finance granted an advance to Genome Canada assuming the agreement of the House?

[Jonathan DeWolfe]

No.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

I think we do need clarification, though, on this point. I don't know what the answer is to Mr. McKay's question. So can someone give us the answer to Mr. McKay's question? The funding is allocated to Genome Canada. My understanding was the same as Monsieur Paillé's, so clearly I'm not correct in that. Why is it allocated and backdated? If it's not a difference in terms of fiscal year, what is the reason that the money for Genome Canada will be available for Genome Canada for this fiscal year?

[Jonathan DeWolfe]

Again, that's a budget decision by the Minister of Finance, but this is not a new or novel practice.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

All right. My time is up.

I have Mr. McKay and Mr. Wallace.

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

Could I suggest that this is a desire on the part of the minister to recognize the $75 million in the last fiscal year, and that he is, in effect, running up the deficit by $75 million in that fiscal year? Is that a correct assumption?

[Jonathan DeWolfe]

I've already spoken to the advantages of a lump-sum payment with respect to getting Genome Canada access to that funding as quickly as possible. I cannot speak to your--

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

That's not relevant to my question. The issue is, when the money is recognized--

[Jonathan DeWolfe]

Right.

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

--for the purposes of the Government of Canada's budget, I'm suggesting to you that the minister has chosen to run up the debt by $75 million for the fiscal year that has already ended, and it will be closed on June 30.

[Jonathan DeWolfe]

Mr. Chair, I've already spoken to the advantages of a lump-sum payment to Genome Canada recorded in 2009-10. I don't think I can speak to the motivations of the Minister of Finance.

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

I wouldn't want you to speak to the motivations of the Minister of Finance. It's a puzzle to us all.

I just want to know whether the effect, by doing it this way, by backdating it this way, in fact increases the indebtedness of the Government of Canada as of March 31 of this year.

[Jonathan DeWolfe]

Posed that way, I think I can answer your question. The deficit in 2009-10 will be $75 million higher than it would have been absent this measure. If the budget implementation act were to be delayed beyond June 30, that $75 million would be recognized against the projected deficit for 2010-11.

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

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Thank you.

Mr. Wallace.

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

I'm going to ask an elementary accounting question. Around here most of us believe that the end of March, March 31, is the year-end.

[Jonathan DeWolfe]

That's the fiscal year-end.

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

That's the fiscal year-end, that is correct. So any spending in my office after March 31 is allocated to my next year's budget. Is that correct? My budget. You're telling us, though, that all spending is allocated then, but the books aren't actually closed off, from the Government of Canada's perspective, till the end of June. Is that correct?