Thank you, Chair.
I'm pleased to be here with my colleagues from Treasury Board to present the supplementary estimates (C). We'll start with that, and if you wish, we would be happy to answer any questions you may have after that.
My colleagues include Christine Walker, who is the assistant secretary and chief financial officer at Treasury Board; David Enns, who is the deputy assistant secretary of expenditure management sector; Sally Thornton, who is the executive director of expenditure operations; and Marcia Santiago, who is the senior director in the same area of expenditure operations.
I'm happy to take any questions you may have on the production of the estimates, the actual supplementary (C). Let me just provide a quick overview of the supplementary estimates (C). These are the third and final estimates for the fiscal year, 2010-2011. They were tabled in the House on February 8.
These supplementary estimates seek authority from Parliament for increases to spending for the fiscal year 2010-2011. The spending will be for items that were based on Budget 2010 expenditure plans, and are now being brought forward for funding approval.
The supplementary estimates also seek authority to transfer existing spending authority from one organization to another, or from one vote to another within an organization, in accordance with the evolving requirements of government.
These supplementary estimates also provide information to Parliament on a net increase of $886 million in statutory spending. Statutory spending, as you know, is spending authorized by the legislation already approved by Parliament, such as major transfers to individuals or provinces.
This is the third consecutive year in which we have had annual supply cycles with three supplementary estimates: supplementary estimates (A), (B), and (C). Supplementary estimates (C) presented near the end of the fiscal year tend to be smaller than supplementary estimates (A) or (B). By their nature they deal largely with year-end pressures and the final budget items that were not ready for earlier supplementary estimates. In terms of voted items, 2010-11 is the smallest supplementary estimates (C) of the last three years. This year the government is seeking approval for $920 million in voted items for 48 organizations. In 2009-10 it sought $1.8 billion and in 2008-09 it sought $1.5 billion. These supplementary estimates bring the total estimates for 2010-11 to about $267 billion.
There are six major items, accounting for about 90% of the $920 million that's sought here, or about $824 million of that total. The first item is the purchase by Public Works of the Nortel Carling campus in Ottawa, which was announced on December 17, 2010. The second item is support for the operations of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. The third item is funding for the payment of disability awards to recognize and compensate veterans for the non-economic impacts of a service-related disability such as pain and suffering or reduced quality of life. The fourth item is approval to write off debts owed to the crown for unrecoverable loans from the Canada student loans portfolio. The fifth item is for a short-term increase in expenditures in the claim payments as a result of the introduction of the pay direct card. This card, introduced in November 2010, allows for immediate claim processing of prescription drug purchases covered under the public service health care plan. The final item I would just note here, the sixth item, is for the Canada Revenue Agency, which requires resources to administer the harmonized sales tax program for Ontario and B.C. and the affordable living tax credit for Nova Scotia.
On the statutory spending side, the $886 million net increase in statutory spending will not form part of the appropriations bill. In supporting the supplementary estimates, the department will be asked to approve the net increases due to a series of increases in certain programs--for example, fiscal equalization offset payments to Newfoundland and Labrador and payments in response to prairie drought conditions, offset by decreases in other programs--for example, reductions in total payments for the old age security and guaranteed income supplement from amounts previously forecast.
In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, this presents a broad brief overview of the supplementary estimates (C), and my colleagues and I would be happy to respond to your detailed questions.