Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to thank you for being here, Minister. It is always a pleasure to have the opportunity to speak with you.
You are responsible for managing approximately $280 billion for the entire Canadian government. That is a substantial amount.
I am going to try to use these five minutes to get some more information about your priorities, and that will answer some questions.
According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the only place in this year's supplementary estimates where there really are large cuts is in green infrastructure. He mentions 59% less. This is an initiative that was launched in 2009, out of a total budget of $1 billion for five years.
According to the Public Accounts of Canada reports, $5 million was spent in 2009-2010 and $34 million in 2010-2011, and $65 million is planned for 2011-2012.
That means this program still has 90% of its budget, for the last two years of the program. So the questions are fairly simple.
Why is there so much money in the last two years of the green infrastructure program? Is the program having problems? Is it in connection with the implementation of the program?
Should that money have been spent, or could it have been spent, elsewhere?