Ms. Jansen.
Evidence of meeting #52 for Finance in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was clauses.
A video is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #52 for Finance in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was clauses.
A video is available from Parliament.
6 p.m.
Conservative
Tamara Jansen Conservative Cloverdale—Langley City, BC
Is there any reporting system by which the municipalities have to let you know how this money was utilized, what infrastructure was built and so forth, with any sort of oversight?
6 p.m.
Director, Governance and Reporting, Office of Infrastructure of Canada
Thank you for your question.
Each year, the signatories must send us their annual financial report along with a list of the projects funded during the year.
We receive the list of projects and their costs. Once the projects are completed, we receive confirmation.
The department receives this list each year and rearranges the data into a table format.
6:05 p.m.
Liberal
Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
With regard to the list of projects for the annual report that comes back from municipalities, and the list of projects that are funded for that year, could you clarify whether it's the list of projects funded by the dollars that came in that year? Or is it just a whole list of all of the projects that municipalities spent money on and of course the Canada community-building fund helped contribute to building? Perhaps you could be specific on whether the annual report is identifying exactly what the Canada community-building fund dollars were spent on.
Second, in terms of Mr. Fast's question with regard to the municipalities choosing the projects, have any criteria been articulated in terms of where or how the project money can be spent? If there's none right now, does the framework agreement allow for those types of criteria to be added or included?
6:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
That will have to be the last question, or we'll have to suspend without finishing this division.
Go ahead, Mr. Malara.
6:05 p.m.
Director, Governance and Reporting, Office of Infrastructure of Canada
Thank you for your question.
Each year, we receive the signatories' financial records and a list of their projects.
One current principle of the federal gas tax fund is that municipalities can use the payments received each year or bank them. This means that some municipalities can bank funds to spend the following year.
To answer your question, the money received by the municipalities may be a combination of funds provided during the year and funds provided in previous years.
In terms of the 18 categories, they have eligibility criteria, which we're constantly reviewing.
6:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
Does that conclude the questions, Ms. Dzerowicz? If there are more, we're going to have to suspend now. I went way over what I promised the translators earlier.
6:05 p.m.
Liberal
Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport, ON
If I can just get a clarification, then I'll be okay. It's on the last point that Mr. Malara made, that we help determine eligibility criteria. Can we modify those as we go along? That's what I want clarification on.
6:05 p.m.
Director, Governance and Reporting, Office of Infrastructure of Canada
No, we don't have the freedom to modify them as we wish.
6:05 p.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.
6:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
Shall clauses 199 and 200 carry?
(Clauses 199 and 200 agreed to on division)
6:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
With that we will suspend for 30 minutes. We will reconvene at 6:39 p.m., Ottawa time.
The meeting is suspended.
6:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
We will reconvene. I call to order meeting number 52 of the Standing Committee on Finance.
We're looking at and studying Bill C-30, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 19.
We're starting with division 15, the Hibernia dividend backed annuity agreement.
June 1st, 2021 / 6:35 p.m.
Liberal
Peter Fragiskatos Liberal London North Centre, ON
Chair, on a point of order, I'm having a bit of a tough time hearing you. I'm not sure if the issue is technical, just on my end, but you're coming in and out.
6:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
It must have been on the little switch on this thing.
All right. Thank you.
(On clause 201)
We're starting with division 15, the Hibernia dividend backed annuity agreement and clause 201, and Mr. Millar will be the lead.
Before you start, Mr. Millar, it's a lovely evening in Nova Scotia over there in one riding. It's Sean Fraser's birthday today, so we'll all wish him well on his birthday. I see him there. He's not moving. He looks like he's frozen. Maybe he's getting old or something—you never know. He did have ice cream and cake, I know that.
Mr. Millar, the floor is yours.
6:40 p.m.
Samuel Millar Director General, Corporate Finance, Natural Resources and Environment, Economic Development and Corporate Finance, Department of Finance
Thank you, Chair.
Happy birthday to Mr. Fraser.
I am Sam Millar, from the Department of Finance. I am here to speak to clause 201.
The proposed measures in this clause would provide clear statutory authority for the Minister of Finance to make payments to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador as required by the 2019 Hibernia dividend backed annuity agreement with the province.
6:40 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Well, could we have a more in-depth explanation of what this entails? We might as well just get that all done up front, because I have lots of questions and I am sure Mr. Millar can answer them in advance, so why doesn't he go ahead and do that?
6:40 p.m.
Director General, Corporate Finance, Natural Resources and Environment, Economic Development and Corporate Finance, Department of Finance
In brief, the proposed provisions here would provide statutory authority for the Minister of Finance to make requisitions from the consolidated revenue fund in order to make the payments that are prescribed in the agreement between the two governments. The agreement that is referenced here is an agreement from April of 2019, which the two governments reached in relation to the dividends that Canada receives from its ownership in the Hibernia offshore oil project.
6:40 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Can you tell me what the total dividends are per year that Canada receives from its interest in Hibernia?
6:40 p.m.
Director General, Corporate Finance, Natural Resources and Environment, Economic Development and Corporate Finance, Department of Finance
Well, it would depend on the year. The dividends fluctuate based on the amount of oil produced by the project and the sales of the company that controls the equity stake, which is the Canada Hibernia Holding Corporation, and, of course, the price of oil that they can command when those resources are sold.
It really does fluctuate from year to year based on those variables and, of course, the operating cost of the project, which the company is partially responsible for.
6:40 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Based on that, I would have no idea what the revenues are, but I think you have a pretty good idea. What were the revenues last fiscal year?
6:40 p.m.
Director General, Corporate Finance, Natural Resources and Environment, Economic Development and Corporate Finance, Department of Finance
I don't have that figure in front of me, but the agreement, I think, is the important thing here, and the agreement prescribes certain payments that the Government of Canada needs to make to the Province of Newfoundland. Those payments were estimated at the time of the agreement, based on future projections of the dividends that would accrue to Canada from the ownership.