Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. I appreciate this opportunity to discuss the public accounts of Canada for 2017-18.
I am joined today by two of my colleagues from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Janique Caron, assistant comptroller general of the financial management sector, and Diane Peressini, executive director of government accounting policy and reporting.
Mr. Chair, the public accounts include the audited consolidated financial statements for the 2017-18 fiscal year, which ended on March 31, 2018, in addition to other unaudited financial information. They are part of a series of reports to Parliament and Canadians that outline how the Government of Canada spent the money that it requested from Parliament and how it generated revenues.
I am pleased to note that for the 20th consecutive year the Auditor General has issued an unmodified or “clean” audit opinion of these financial statements. This demonstrates once again the high quality and accuracy of Canada's financial reporting and the Government of Canada's commitment as an institution to the responsible financial management and oversight of taxpayer dollars.
In terms of highlights, the public accounts are showing an annual deficit of approximately $19 billion, virtually unchanged from last year, with an accumulated deficit of $671.3 billion. The ratio of accumulated deficit-to-GDP is 31.3%, down from 32% in fiscal year 2016-17.
This year, the government reviewed its methodology for the selection of discount rates to promote consistency in measuring financial statement items. Discount rates are used to estimate today's value of future cash flows.
This change was applied to a number of liabilities and assets. For the unfunded pension obligations, the new methodology represents a fundamental change in the government's discounting approach. It is therefore considered a change in accounting policy and was implemented retroactively.
Much work goes into these financial statements, which are prepared under the joint direction of the Minister of Finance, the President of the Treasury Board, and the Receiver General for Canada.
I would like to thank the financial management community of the Government of Canada for their excellent work in helping to prepare the public accounts. Its members are responsible for maintaining detailed records of the transactions in their departmental accounts and maintaining strong internal controls.
I would like to thank the Office of the Auditor General for its continued co-operation and assistance. In particular, as noted in his observations, the OAG has invested many hours and has worked closely with my office to achieve this 20th unmodified audit opinion.
We very much appreciate their professionalism and collaboration.
We look forward to addressing your questions to aid you in your study of the Public Accounts.
Also, Mr. Chair, I would note that last week there was a short deck presentation that was provided to this committee. Obviously, if there are any questions on that deck, we would welcome these questions.
Thank you.