Evidence of meeting #139 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was budget.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB
Are they in your departmental plans now? Have there been updates to your departmental plans to include those funds?
Vice-President, Policy and Programs Branch, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
I'd have to double-check that for you.
Conservative
Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management Sector, Treasury Board Secretariat
Mr. Kelly, on that point, the departmental plans are tabled once a year, and so they would not be re-tabled. That is consistent with how we have done budget items in the past when items are brought forward in supplementaries (A), (B), and (C) without having been in the departmental plans.
Now that it is approved, it will be reflected in the main estimates next year for the CFIA, and it will be in their departmental plans next year.
Conservative
Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB
Thank you.
Ms. Fernando, $71 million for the Department of the Environment.
Director General, Policy, Planning and Partnerships Directorate, Meteorological Service of Canada, Department of the Environment
Of that, to my knowledge, the only piece that has been approved by Treasury Board is the revitalization of Canada's weather services.
Conservative
Director General, Policy, Planning and Partnerships Directorate, Meteorological Service of Canada, Department of the Environment
Yes, it has.
Conservative
Director General, Policy, Planning and Partnerships Directorate, Meteorological Service of Canada, Department of the Environment
The other items are in the process of being developed for Treasury Board consideration.
Conservative
Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB
They're in the process of being developed even as we are asked to vote on the money?
Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management Sector, Treasury Board Secretariat
Again, this is consistent with our intention of providing parliamentarians, for your benefit, a forward-looking view of the requirements of departments so that you can hold the government to account for those items.
In the case of Environment, there are three initiatives, one of which has been approved. You can inquire as to the aspirations of the other two initiatives. They have not yet been approved, but we can provide an indication of what the government expects to achieve with—
Conservative
Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB
I understand the intention. I understand and heard you earlier on the point of Parliament having passed the budget, but the Constitution requires that we approve the estimates. The fact that we've just approved the budget does not constitute sufficient grounds to simply agree that a vote like vote 40, where items under development that have not yet gone to Treasury Board and are not ready to go to Treasury Board for their funds, ought to be simply be pre-approved by parliamentarians.
I'm interested, since we have different department officials here, to get a sense from at least the departments that we were fortunately able to get today—and I'm pleased that we have a good turnout—of how far along we are on going through the proper financial management processes that we have for money that is going to be put to a vote by parliamentarians.
I'll move to Fisheries and Oceans and Mr. Morel.
Philippe Morel Assistant Deputy Minister, Aquatic Ecosystems Sector, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Out of the $519 million from budget 2018, there is $22 million for sustainable aquaculture that was approved by Treasury Board, and we're finalizing the small craft harbour allocation. It's not final yet.
Conservative
Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB
Okay, say that again. You have $216 million in vote 40, and the item that has been vetted through Treasury Board is which item?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Aquatic Ecosystems Sector, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
It's the sustainable aquaculture program.
Conservative
Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB
It's the sustainable aquaculture program. Okay. How much?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Aquatic Ecosystems Sector, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
That's $21.6 million over two years.
Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management Sector, Treasury Board Secretariat
It's an important point, because you suggested earlier that we've allocated more than is indicated in the annex, and that is not the case. What you're seeing in the annex is the single year profile for 2018-19.
Many of these initiatives are funded over two, three, four, and five years. What Treasury Board does is approve the initiative once for all the years and what you're seeing is—
Conservative
Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB
This is an important answer to these questions to clarify this.
Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management Sector, Treasury Board Secretariat
I'm happy to provide that clarification. Just to be clear, there is not an area where we have allocated more funds this year than what is indicated in the annex.
Conservative
Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB
Okay. On Fisheries and Oceans, then, we have one of the items of the $216 million that has been approved.
Very quickly, maybe, on the Department of Foreign Affairs, I want to ask about this “Ensuring Security and Prosperity in the Digital Age” item. We saw this as a common thread through a variety of departments, including a couple of the departments that were here in the previous panel.
This is part of the problem that some of us have with the way the information is presented to us. Ensuring security and prosperity in the digital age is surely a worthy undertaking. Who wouldn't agree that we should ensure security and prosperity in the digital age, but it's not really much of a description of what the money is actually spent on. Could you let us know if that item is one that has now been through Treasury Board and, if so, exactly what those funds are going to be spent on?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski
Mr. Kelly, as I'm fond of saying on occasion, the amount of time allocated for questions is both for the question and for the answer. Since we've run out of time, we'll have to go to our next intervenor, Mr. Blaikie, for seven minutes.