I think the—
Evidence of meeting #19 for Finance in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was income.
A video is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #19 for Finance in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was income.
A video is available from Parliament.
1 p.m.
Senior Chief, Expenditure Analysis and Forecasting, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, Department of Finance
I think the—
1 p.m.
Conservative
Lisa Raitt Conservative Milton, ON
Question lodged. If someone can get back to me on that, it would be awesome. Thank you.
1 p.m.
Senior Chief, Expenditure Analysis and Forecasting, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, Department of Finance
Yes. Absolutely.
1 p.m.
Liberal
1 p.m.
NDP
Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
No, I don't. It's for part 4, section 1.
1 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
Going to part 4, if we could go through them by division. First is division 1, Federal Balanced Budget Act.
Are there any questions in that area, or were you prepared to give a bit of a briefing first?
1:05 p.m.
Senior Chief, Expenditure Analysis and Forecasting, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, Department of Finance
I can mention exactly what it is. It's only the one line. It repeals the Federal Balanced Budget Act, or proposes a repeal to the Federal Balanced Budget Act, deeming it to never have come into force.
1:05 p.m.
NDP
Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Could you confirm that, if the act remains unchanged and is still in force—and it probably will be after June 1, 2016—the government will be breaking its own law as of that date?
1:05 p.m.
Senior Chief, Expenditure Analysis and Forecasting, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, Department of Finance
Under the current act, which was passed with the Budget Implementation Act, from budget 2015, a government would need to impose an operating budget freeze on departments, and a salary freeze on ministers and deputy ministers, that would come into force this fiscal year, and it would extend until a return to balanced a budget is achieved.
1:05 p.m.
NDP
Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
I understand these implications, but as of June 1, 2016, if I'm not mistaken, the government should take these measures pursuant to the act because of its fiscal situation. So it would be breaking its own law and should implement these measures.
Do I have that right?
1:05 p.m.
Senior Chief, Expenditure Analysis and Forecasting, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, Department of Finance
According to the Federal Balanced Budget Act, those measures are expected to come into force this fiscal year. What the government has chosen instead to do is to propose a repeal of the act deeming it never to have come into force.
1:05 p.m.
NDP
Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
I do understand. The government has chosen to retroactively cancel this act, and in the language of the bill is saying this act never existed, so that all the consequences it should face, according to this act, will have been deemed never to have taken place because the act didn't exist in the first place.
Have we seen many examples of this formulation in the past?
May 10th, 2016 / 1:05 p.m.
Senior Chief, Expenditure Analysis and Forecasting, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, Department of Finance
I'm not an expert at past legislation.
1:05 p.m.
NDP
Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Was the justice department consulted on the impacts of this type of formulation of retroactive change?
1:05 p.m.
Senior Chief, Expenditure Analysis and Forecasting, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, Department of Finance
I wasn't. I'm from the fiscal policy division. You would have to speak to our legal branch in that case.
1:05 p.m.
NDP
Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Mr. Chair, you said that we could invite other witnesses and officials for questions like this.
Would it be possible to invite someone who could answer these questions?
1:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
We'll make note of that, and try and get someone here on that.
Just to explain where we're at, and to help officials determine they are here for the right questions, we are going to go through the divisions in the bill.
When the clerk asked finance officials, we asked them to come on areas that people felt they would have questions on with divisions 1, 2, 4, 5, and 9. I know you have a question on 8, Ms. Raitt, and 12 and 14.
We'll go through them one by one, if we can.
Are there any more questions on division 1?
Mr. MacKinnon.
1:05 p.m.
Liberal
Steven MacKinnon Liberal Gatineau, QC
On the same line of questioning as Mr. Caron, are you aware of any legislation that would be able to predetermine the fiscal policy from one parliament to another?
1:05 p.m.
Senior Chief, Expenditure Analysis and Forecasting, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, Department of Finance
I'm not aware of anything for the federal government, no.
1:05 p.m.
Liberal
Steven MacKinnon Liberal Gatineau, QC
So the existence of a balanced budget act would be unprecedented?
1:05 p.m.
Senior Chief, Expenditure Analysis and Forecasting, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, Department of Finance
At the federal level, yes.
1:05 p.m.
Liberal
Steven MacKinnon Liberal Gatineau, QC
So the precedent we should all be recoiling from is the precedent of trying to bind one parliament by using the previous one.