Mr. Speaker, Revenue from the charge is reported monthly in The Fiscal Monitor published by the Department of Finance. Revenue for the first four months of operation, April through July 2002,totals roughly $122 million, composed of monthly remittances of $20 million, $28 million, $34 million and $36 million, plus an estimated $1 million per month from the GST/HST. Based on collections to date, ongoing full year revenue from the charge, including applicable GST, is estimated to be in the range of $400 million to $420 million per year.
The total cost of the enhanced air travel security system is expected to be $2.2 billion through 2006-07. Budget 2001 provided that revenue from the charge would be maintained in line with expected expenditures on the enhanced air travel security system through 2006-07. The government is committed to reviewing the charge over time to ensure that revenue remains in line with the costs of enhanced security.
The government has begun the process of reviewing the charge. The government has indicated that if revenue is projected to exceed planned expenditures through 2006-07, the charge will be reduced.
Under the government’s current five year forecast, which is based on ATSC collections and air traffic data observed to date, revenue from the charge is not expected to exceed the cost of enhanced air security as set out in budget 2001. As such, there is little scope for reducing the charge at the present time. However, the government’s change to accrual accounting, possibly as early as budget 2003, could provide an opportunity for reducing the charge. Under accrual accounting, the costs to be recovered from the charge through 2006-07 may be lower than those set out in budget 2001.