There are two things. We'll speak generally about ISED, Mr. Chair, and then we'll answer the specific question on how dollars phase out.
When you look at ISED, the Canadian Space Agency was highlighted. Their lapse is very much related to one big project, the radar satellite projects, and when you're dealing with a complex project like satellite development, delays are not unimaginable. So you got delays there which cause a lapse. That's not ideal, but it's explainable.
You then cycle into some of the other organizations you mentioned where you have lapses in grants and contributions dollars. The government has takers; you need to have applicants. Sometimes the applicants materialize in volumes we expect and sometimes they don't. Then you have an issue of whether you can negotiate a transfer payment agreement or not. Depending on the nature of the department, you may see some delays. Infrastructure is a great example of where negotiations cause delays.
In terms of the ability to carry forward money, there's a built-in carry forward around operating and capital. Departments are allowed to carry forward 5% of operating and a certain percentage of capital. There is no automatic rollover of grants and contributions dollars. If a department can't spend its grants and contributions dollars, they have to make an application to our friends in the Department of Finance and say they would like to spend this money next year. If Finance blesses it, it then would get picked up again in the supply cycle, back to Parliament to get voted, and away we go again.