Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you for the opportunity to appear before the committee today.
My name is Martin Krumins, assistant comptroller general for the financial management sector at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.
I'm here today with my colleagues: Michelle Kealey, acting executive director for financial management and transfer payments, and Emilio Franco, executive director of the procurement and materiel directorate. We are pleased to be here to speak about grants and contributions, as well as our work supporting the implementation of the buy Canadian policy.
At the Office of the Comptroller General, we provide government-wide direction in areas such as financial management, internal audit, investment planning, procurement and project management, as well as management of real property, materiel and transfer payments—also known as grants and contributions. Grants and contributions are governed by the Treasury Board policy on transfer payments, which sets out roles, responsibilities and requirements for their management. The objective is to ensure that these programs respond to government priorities, deliver results for Canadians and are managed with integrity, transparency and accountability.
Control mechanisms are in place throughout the process. Departments must first obtain policy approval for programs and then seek Treasury Board approval for terms and conditions, which establish the parameters for transfer payments, including objectives, funding, expected results and eligibility criteria.
In terms of roles and responsibilities, departments are responsible for designing and implementing their grants and contributions programs, ensuring that appropriate practices and requirements are commensurate with risks. They are also responsible for monitoring compliance and performance through reporting to ensure that programs are achieving their intended results.
The Office of the Comptroller General supports the management of grants and contributions by ensuring that terms and conditions align with cabinet direction and the policy on transfer payments. The OCG plays a government-wide leadership and oversight role by promoting sound management practices, monitoring compliance and supporting the transfer payments community.
Let me now turn to the buy Canadian policy and our role in supporting its implementation in grants and contributions.
I understand that you spoke with PSPC earlier. In terms of our roles, PSPC is responsible for developing and implementing the buy Canadian procurement policy framework whereas TBS supports extending this policy to grants and contributions through guidance, awareness and alignment with the pre-existing Treasury Board instruments. By extending the policy to grants and contributions, federal funding programs can encourage recipients to prioritize and support Canadian content and suppliers as they align with program objectives and authorities.
To date, the Treasury Board Secretariat has taken a pragmatic approach by developing guidance to help departments determine where and how to integrate buy Canadian considerations. This guidance aims to ensure a consistent approach while maintaining a degree of flexibility.
Departments have also reviewed their programs to identify when buy Canadian considerations can be applied. Implementation is progressing through the integration of “buy Canadian”-related provisions into new funding agreements and, when appropriate, revisiting or renegotiating existing agreements.
Going forward, the focus will be on ensuring that funding conditions are respected, using existing oversight mechanisms, while minimizing additional burden and complexity.
In closing, Mr. Chair, the Office of the Comptroller General continues to work closely with departments to ensure that grants and contributions programs are well managed, effective and aligned with broader federal objectives, including the implementation of this policy.
We will be happy to answer your questions.
Thank you.