Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.
As the Chief Financial Officer, I am the lead official responsible for preparing the financial reports and presenting the main estimates 2017-18 for the Department of Finance.
Joining me today are officials who will help me provide a more complete picture of the policy supporting the figures in this document. The main estimates 2017-18 list the total budgetary requirements at $90.1 billion for the Department of Finance Canada, meaning $90 billion in projected statutory expenditures and $89.3 million in voted appropriations.
Those statutory items are included in the main estimates for information purposes and they will not be in the appropriation bill.
The 2017-18 main estimates of $90.1 billion are $679.8 million higher compared to the 2016-17 main estimates of $85.9 billion, due to an increase of $681.3 million in statutory items, offset by a $1.5-million decrease in voted amounts.
Within the statutory forecast, the major contributing factors to the $681.3-million increase are as follows: a $1.1-billion increase in the Canada health transfer, reflecting the minimum 3% legislated growth rate for 2017-18; a $400.4-million increase in the Canada social transfer, reflecting the 3% legislated annual increase; a $373.2-million increase in fiscal equalization to reflect the 2.09% gross domestic product-based escalator being applied to the 2016-17 level; a $145.5-million increase in territorial financing as a result of new and updated data used to calculate territorial expenditure requirements and revenue capacities entering the formula; a $528-million decrease in other interest costs due to a decrease in the average Government of Canada long-term bond rate, which is used to calculate interest on the public sector pension obligations pertaining to service pre-April 1, 2000, debt; and a $764-million decrease in interest on unmatured debt to reflect private sector economists' expectations from the 2016 fall economic statement projections.
The decrease of $1.5 million in vote 1, program expenditures, is mainly due to a decrease in funding for time-limited budget 2015 initiatives, totalling $1 million, and budget 2016 reductions to professional services, advertising, and travel, totalling $0.5 million.
This concludes my overview of the main estimates. I would be pleased to address any questions the committee may have.