Evidence of meeting #62 for Industry, Science and Technology in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was program.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Right. So Kelly's job then is to look after just the department's finances, not the individual councils' funding?
Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
Yes, they each have their own CFO. They each have their own organizations. There are 5,000 people at the NRC.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
So for us to ask questions specifically in the supplementary or the main estimates about those organizations, we need to invite them here. Is that correct?
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Okay.
Mr. Chair, I have issues with the way the system works here.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
I'm not going to resign; I'm going to try to get re-elected so I can continue to work on maybe making some change to it.
The final question I have is this. When I look at the main estimates for your area, it's main against last year's main and it does not include any supplementaries in that number at all. Is that correct?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative David Sweet
Thank you, Mr. Wallace. I hope the rest of your day goes better.
Madam Coady, you have five minutes.
Liberal
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
I echo Mr. Wallace's concerns. I think there is a better process.
I only have four and a bit minutes, and I'm going to be sharing my time with my colleague.
I have a question about ACOA. If we look in the supplementary estimates (C), and we all have, we see you are going to receive money as a transfer from National Defence to help with the organization of the 2010 Halifax international security forum. Everyone knows you are transferring money out and in. But it's very thin. Your margins are, I'm sure, very thin.
I know ACOA received some money under the EAP, but all of that of course will be taken back from ACOA because the economic action plan is ending. So my question is very simple. I know you have very, very tight budgets and you've been cut back over the last few years except for the EAP. How are you going to manage under the budget freeze? What are you cutting under the budget freeze to make your budget?
Acting Vice-President, Finance and Corporate Services, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
The focus of late has been on internal efficiency within ACOA and not necessarily on programs at this point. So our attention is turned internally.
Liberal
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
Knowing how tight you are internal to ACOA, because ACOA is very vital to Atlantic Canada and extremely vital to the business community in Atlantic Canada and to the relationship we have, for example, with universities and research and development and all those things that fall under ACOA, I will put a plea in for government to actually bring your funding up. Even if it can go back to 2005-2006 levels, I think it would be helpful.
My question now is to Mr. Dicerni. If you could, sir, I'm looking at Broadband Canada and I know you put a lot of money under the EAP into Broadband Canada and connecting rural Canadians. It obviously has to be a critical issue for this country. I'm concerned because I'm noticing between supplementary estimates (C) and the mains a tremendous cut, 87% actually. Maybe I'm reading that wrong, and you'll advise me. It looks like a cut of $145 million from Broadband Canada, to fall from $166 million to $21 million. My question is twofold. Is that correct, or are you hoping for more in the budget? That could happen. Are you funded adequately for the broadband initiative? I think it's way behind schedule.
Second, I just want to note one thing. I looked at the list of projects under Broadband Canada. I'm from Newfoundland and Labrador, as you know, and Newfoundland and Labrador falls just behind the Arctic in terms of our penetration on broadband. Yet only one of the 98 projects came to Newfoundland and Labrador, and that was in Labrador. We're pretty rural. I know even in St. John's there are places in the city that do not have adequate coverage. Could you comment on that, please?
Then I'll turn it to my colleague.
Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
When the government announced the broadband program in the budget of 2009, the first thing we had to do was serious mapping, just to document who had what. That took a certain amount of time to properly capture where existing levels of service were. This was doubly complicated because the private sector was continuing to do its own expansion, so we constantly had to update our maps. Once we had the maps of what was out there done, we put out an RFP to get people to submit proposals. Once we received those, we started negotiating with proponents on a best-bang-for-the-buck approach. If we had $1,000 to spend, how would that $1,000 optimize reach? We did this across the country.
The program took some time to develop, partially because we wanted to get the maps right, and secondly because those negotiations were quite time-consuming.
The answer to your question about amounts is that we are seeking to reprofile some of that money into subsequent years. As we continue to negotiate contribution agreements with different proponents, some of those will fall in other years. Therefore we have submitted a proposal to reprofile the remaining funds in subsequent years.
Liberal
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
I want some confirmation then. In the mains there's $21 million for broadband. That's not nearly adequate to do the job, so are you hoping that in your reprofiling you will be further funded?
Liberal
Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
Yes. It's not new funding. It's part of the $225 million that was put in the 2009 budget, which we have not spent because it took the better part of eight or nine months to do the maps. We had nothing to start off with.
Liberal
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
Going to Mr. Wallace's point, when you say reprofiling, you're not looking for it in budget 2011; you're hoping just to have that brought forward. That is what I'm understanding.
Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
For the sake of program administration, yes.
Liberal
Chief Financial Officer, Comptrollership and Administration Sector, Department of Industry
You'll see it in supplementary estimates (A).
Liberal
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
Thank you.
I guess I'm hearing that in the next round of supplementary estimates I can look for and find funding for the broadband initiative, with all things being equal.
As you said, it was $225 million to be spent. How much is remaining at this point?
