Stockwell Day

[Government Spending, December 8th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I will send my hon. friend these items in writing, if that helps, because I already have that. Her people are not putting these items in front of her, obviously.

Not one minister overspent the budget allocation. As a matter of fact, ministers spent 16% less than what was available to them. With what we are putting in place this year, there will be an $11.4 million saving on ministers' office budgets alone.

I would like my hon. friend to say: Is she opposed to this reduction in ministerial office spending? I would like to know if she is opposed to that.

[Government Spending, December 8th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, one example after another shows where we continue to perform and continue to manage taxpayers' dollars in ways that are far better than the Liberals ever did.

Ministerial office budgets are being reduced by $11.4 million this year. All operational spending of government is frozen for the next three years. There are reductions in items like the use of the Challenger jet. Cabinet ministers from the Conservative government have 80% less usage than the Liberals used to.

We have things under control. We are going to keep it that way.

[Government Spending, December 7th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, all ministers spent within their allocation.

If I were asking a question of my hon. friend, I would say these secret figures, wherever they are from, cannot be too secret if she got hold of them. That is a little bit of a mystery to me.

In every single category, without fail, when we compare ministerial spending of this government to that of the former Liberal government, we spend significantly less. We reduced in every single area.

[Government Spending, December 7th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the story is simply not true. All ministers spent within their allocated budgets. Every minister did.

As a matter of fact, my hon. colleague knows very well that we have gone beyond just the operational freeze of all operational spending across government for three years. When it comes to the ministers' budgets, they have been reduced by $11.4 million.

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 6th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, in response to (a), in 2007, the Government of Canada introduced a new expenditure management system as part of an ongoing commitment to ensure responsible spending and sound management of tax dollars. A key pillar of this system is the ongoing assessment of all direct program spending, or strategic reviews.

Each year as part of a four year cycle, a number of departments and agencies review 100% of their programs with a view to reallocating 5% of their expenditures from lower to higher priority programs and services, streamlining internal operations and transforming the way they do business to achieve better results for Canadians.

The strategic review process is an effective tool to help control the growth of spending. It is a mechanism which allows the government to reallocate funding from low priority, low performing programs to higher priorities for Canadians based on a comprehensive review of all programs.

In response to (b), in 2010, the following 13 government organizations are undertaking reviews: Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency; Canada Economic Development Agency for Quebec Regions; Department of National Defence; Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, excludes Labour Canada; Industry Canada; Marine Atlantic Inc.; Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions; Office of Infrastructure of Canada; Privy Council Office; Public Works and Government Services Canada; Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat; andWestern Economic Diversification Canada.

In response to (c), the results of the 2010 strategic reviews will be released in budget 2011.

[Government Spending, December 6th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I really do think my friend is well-intentioned, but she needs to sit down with her research staff because the numbers are very clear. In any category we would want to measure, we are spending significantly less than the former Liberal government.

I will just talk about some of the areas. On cabinet spending alone for the year coming up, we will be spending $11 million less than the year before.

On use of the Challenger jet, cabinet ministers in this government spend 80% less on the use of that Challenger jet than the federal Liberals did. In every category, we are lower and better than they are.

[Government Spending, December 6th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, we continue to maintain that we believe Canada has the best public service of any country, anywhere. In case my friend opposite missed it, we have frozen operational spending for all departments. We have frozen the salaries of all members of Parliament. We have frozen hospitality, travel and conferencing at 2009 levels for the next three years.

On hospitality spending alone, in the last four years we have spent 30% less than the Liberals spent.That is why they are nervous about these types of restraint measures.

[Government Spending, December 2nd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the numbers are very clear. In each category, in comparison with the previous Liberal government—it is very expensive, as it was for them—we have reduced spending on polls by 66%.

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 29th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to Bill C-471, An Act respecting the implementation of the recommendations of the Pay Equity Task Force and amending another Act in consequence, and in response to (a), the President of the Treasury Board did not consult with any organizations, lobbyists or interest groups between January 19, 2010 and May 5, 2010. Treasury Board Secretariat does not hold the records of meetings for previous ministers and therefore cannot respond for the time period prior to January 19, 2010.

In response to (b), the President of the Treasury Board was briefed by officials of TBS.

In response to (c), TBS prepared the briefing materials.

In response to (d), the material provided to the President of the Treasury Board is protected under the Access to Information Act and therefore cannot be provided.

In response to (e), briefing materials were presented to the President of the Treasury Board.

[Government Spending, November 25th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, we looked at the last four years of Liberal spending when it comes to hospitality, travel and conferencing, and we were quite amazed at the lack of accountability, so we introduced a number of measures.

So far, with measures that were introduced earlier, we have reduced by 30% the spending on travel, hospitality and conferencing.

Also in freezing these levels at 2009 levels, this year alone we have already saved $56 million, and we have asked for increased transparency and increased accountability. We will continue to save money for taxpayers.