Mr. Brown.
Evidence of meeting #1 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #1 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:20 p.m.
Conservative
Patrick Brown Conservative Barrie, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I agree with what Mr. McTeague is suggesting about the need to look at stimulus spending sooner than later. I think that would be a great start for our committee. I'm not sure, as Madam Bourgeois has suggested, that we need to look at accrual accounting again. The last committee looked at that in depth and produced a report in December 2006. I worry that we'd be repeating ourselves and not using time productively if we took that approach.
One thing I'd be interested in is the greening of government buildings and operations. We talked about looking at that before, but haven't gone into it in depth. It's something that I think government operations could be productive with.
12:20 p.m.
Bloc
Diane Bourgeois Bloc Terrebonne—Blainville, QC
Clearly, I assume that we are going to prioritize these matters at our next meeting. I am in favour of stimulating the economy. I have no problem on that score, but I am not sure that it is the main priority at present. In fact, we should give the government time to get its budget working. I think it is important; we have to give them time to start spending the money before we can see if it was well spent. We will likely see by the end of March. They said three months, so let us say April, perhaps. Mr. Chair, the committee has never been incapable of doing two or three tasks at the same time, depending on the availability of witnesses.
That said, it is perhaps possible to decide that one day, Tuesday, for example, we would look at matters of one kind and look at another kind on Thursday. As I said earlier, it depends on the availability of witnesses, on our research staff, our clerks, and so on.
Thank you very much.
12:20 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Derek Lee
We've made a good start, colleagues. I have listed seven subjects from around the table: procurement, public service staff turnover, accrual accounting, sale of government assets, greening of government operations, stimulus package, and supplementary estimates. This list is going to have to go to informal discussion among members and to the steering committee, if necessary. We'll bring it back to discuss here as future business.
In the meantime, now we have to pick something short-term that will get us up and running. I had hoped that members would want to take a preliminary look at stimulus spending across government as we move into a phase during which the government will be attempting to implement its budget. I had hoped we would be able to come back here on Thursday and review two aspects of the stimulus spending envelope. One is where stimulus spending should be targeted. Where is it best targeted? It's not a precise science. Some of that data can come from Statistics Canada.
The other side of it would be the driver of the stimulus spending. That is, somewhere around the Privy Council and the Treasury Board, somewhere there is a departmental perspective on how the stimulus spending will be rolled out. There will be some obstacles in terms of parliamentary passage. There may be other obstacles we're unaware of. But as they pertain to government operations and the way government is going to embark upon this, I think we should get a snapshot as it begins.
The following week I think we should be prepared to have our first hearings on the supplementary estimates. These estimates are going to have to be reported back to the House by a specific date. I understand that there are negotiations between the parties now about when that date should be. The rules, I think, provide a date. Maybe I'll just ask the staff now.
Is there a date provided for in the Standing Orders?
12:20 p.m.
The Clerk
Yes.
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Derek Lee
The clerk has the date when the supplementary estimates already referred to us must be reported back to the House.
12:25 p.m.
The Clerk
Actually, the standing order states that it should be done before March 26 or three days before the last day of the supply period. That date is still unknown. At the latest, it's going to be March 26, or it can be anytime before that.
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Derek Lee
So we still have six or seven weeks. This is the supplementary estimates we're talking about.
12:25 p.m.
The Clerk
Yes, but it could be earlier, depending on when the last supply day will be.
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Derek Lee
Yes, but we have weeks. Your chair had been led to believe that the government wanted to move that up, because it was late anyway. We'll just have to stand advised until whenever those negotiations conclude. At this time, we have approximately seven weeks. It could be six weeks. It could be five weeks. The government and the opposition parties have a mechanism for selecting the last day of the supply period for debate in the House. That date has not yet been selected, as the clerk points out. It's roughly six weeks, plus or minus a week, that we have to look at the supplementary piece. We could look at that next Tuesday. We could begin hearings on the supplementary estimates. There would be a rather pro forma presentation, I presume.
Maybe the clerk could indicate who would be the first witnesses on the supplementary estimates.
12:25 p.m.
The Clerk
Usually our committee--
12:25 p.m.
Bloc
Diane Bourgeois Bloc Terrebonne—Blainville, QC
I do not understand at all. Let us speak the same language, Mr. Chair. First, what do you mean by supplementary estimates? I do not think we are seeing things the same way.
Second, is talking about the supplementary estimates going to take us six weeks? Do you mean the budget he has given us?
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Derek Lee
The supplementary estimates have been introduced into the House. All of those estimates have been formally, by the rules, referred to this committee for study and reporting back. That is a routine parliamentary supply procedure.
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Derek Lee
Normally those supplementary estimates are introduced before the end of the year. In this case, they had to wait until Parliament came back in the new year. They're a little bit behind schedule. I'm indicating that we have an obligation under the parliamentary rules to take a look at them, to at least look at them--
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Derek Lee
--and if so advised, report back to the House. I'm suggesting that we do so next Tuesday, that we have them presented with the first set of witnesses for one meeting.
12:25 p.m.
Bloc
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Derek Lee
I'm embarking on the same road as you have suggested, which is that we can carry on more than one task at one time.