Thank you, Chair, and good afternoon. Yes, I will be providing the opening comments on behalf of my other colleagues from the department.
I'm pleased to join you as part of the committee study on federal support for different natural resources sectors.
My name is Samuel Millar, and I'm the Associate Assistant Deputy Minister of the Economic Development Branch in the Department of Finance Canada.
Before I share some information on our role within the economic development branch, I want to acknowledge that I'm joined by some colleagues: from the tax policy branch, Miodrag Jovanovic, and from the Crown investment and asset branch, Marie-Josée Lambert. Our three branches have an active role in providing budget advice to the Minister of Finance on matters related to fiscal and economic policy for a number of sectors across the economy, including the natural resources sector.
In the economic development branch, we support the Minister of Finance with advice on funding decisions for all domestic economic departments, including Natural Resources Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Department of National Defence. In this capacity, we play a challenge function role on funding proposals for ministers from those departments. However, since the Minister of Finance is really the lead on implementing such programs, we rarely administer funding and measures, with only a few exceptions. Other departments and agencies are the lead implementers, following government funding decisions and parliamentary approval.
I know we have some colleagues from those departments. You've already heard from Monsieur Dufour, and you will be hearing from Mr. Fleming. They represent a couple of the departments that regularly implement programs in those sectors.
That being said, environmental—