Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and congratulations on your new role presiding over this very important committee.
Welcome to the other new members of this OGGO committee.
It's a pleasure for me to appear this morning to discuss supplementary estimates (B), 2022-23. Of course, before I continue, I'd like to acknowledge that we are here today on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.
As you can see, I am with my senior officials from the Treasury Board Secretariat: Annie Boudreau, assistant secretary, expenditure management sector; Karen Cahill, assistant secretary and chief financial officer for the Treasury Board; Carole Bidal, associate assistant deputy minister, employee relations and total compensation; Monia Lahaie, assistant comptroller general, financial management sector; Samantha Tattersall, assistant comptroller general, acquired services and assets sector; Kelly Acton, assistant deputy minister, policy and performance sector; and Paul Wagner, assistant deputy minister, strategy and transformation. I am very glad that they are here with me, and I want to thank them for their hard work.
These supplementary estimates provide information on spending requirements that were not sufficiently developed at the time of the main estimates or that were subsequently refined to reflect new changes.
As several initiatives were not developed in time to be reflected in the supplementary estimates (A), this fiscal year was lighter than the one covered by the supplementary estimates (B), which requires more spending. Nevertheless, when combined, the voted budgetary appropriations in the two budgets are consistent with last year's. I felt it was important to start with that information.
This fall, the government is asking Parliament to approve $20.8 billion in voted budgetary appropriations to allow 87 institutions to address issues of importance to Canadians. For information purposes, the supplementary estimates also include $5 billion in statutory budgetary expenditures, which includes $2 billion for a one-time top‑up this summer to the provinces and territories as part of the Canada health transfer.
The amounts in these supplementary estimates are higher than usual. Most of this increase can be attributed to indigenous claims, settlement agreements and investments in infrastructure and essential services for indigenous communities.
I would like to provide an overview of some of the significant amounts requested in this year's supplementary estimates. For example, the following amounts are being requested by Crown‑Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada: $3 billion for out-of-court settlements; $677.6 million to replenish the specific claims settlement fund; $673.5 million to settle first nations Treaty 8 Land Entitlement specific claims; $673 million to fund childhood claims, abuse, compensation and administration costs for the federal Indian day schools and sixties scoop settlement agreements; and $458.2 million for self-governing and modern treaty first nation, Inuit and Métis housing.
Other key measures in these supplementary estimates include $1.5 billion to the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness for the disaster financial assistance arrangements program. This program, which provides financial assistance to provincial and territorial governments, will cover the costs associated with the natural disasters that occurred in British Columbia, such as the 2020 floods and landslides and the 2021 fires, floods and landslides.
In addition, $732 million was provided to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development to support access by developing countries to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics to fight COVID‑19.
If you give me one more minute, I will conclude.
Mr. Chair, open, transparent, and accountable government means ensuring that parliamentarians and Canadians know how public funds are being invested on their behalf. This is why, in addition to estimates documents, we continue to make use of reporting tools such as GC InfoBase and the Open Government portal. These tools, of course, present easy-to-understand information to Canadians about the authorities that are approved by Parliament.
Mr. Chair, these estimates demonstrate our government's ongoing commitment to Canadians' priorities at home and abroad.
I will thank you again and be ready to take your questions.