Tony Clement

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 8th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, Treasury Board Secretariat is tasked with responding to this question on behalf of the government. This information is taken from the regional pay system as of March 31, 2012.

The federal public service includes the core public administration (departments and organizations listed in schedules I and IV of the Financial Administration Act) and separate agencies (federal agencies listed in schedule V of the Financial Administration Act).

These figures include only employees appointed to indeterminate positions. Employees appointed to term positions, casual employees and students are not included.

Note that similar information regarding the age of public servants is posted on the Treasury Board Secretariat website. Those figures include employees appointed to term positions, casual employees and students. These employees were not included in the response to Q-902 since the question requests statistics regarding tenure.

In response to (a), with respect to employees appointed to indeterminate positions within the federal public service, as of March 31, 2012, there were 44,509 employees between the ages of 50 and 54 years old in the public service. This figure represented 18.4% of the total number of employees in the public service at that time.

In response to (b)(i), with respect to employees appointed to indeterminate positions within the federal public service, as of March 31, 2012, 40.4% of public service employees between the ages of 50 and 54 years old had accumulated over 25 years of service.

In response to (b)(ii), with respect to employees appointed to indeterminate positions within the federal public service, as of March 31, 2012, 20.3% of public service employees between the ages of 50 and 54 years old had accumulated over 30 years of service.

[Performance Reports, 2011-12, November 8th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table in both official languages, on behalf of 95 departments and agencies, the performance reports for 2011-12.

I invite members to access the performance reports at www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/dpr-rmr.

[Government Accountability, November 8th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we agreed with most of this committee's and the report's recommendations. It is important to have more transparency and accountability. We accept this report. It is important in order to have members' support for the budget. We accept most of the recommendations.

[Government Accountability, November 8th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada overwhelmingly agreed with the recommendations from that particular committee. Specifically, I can say to the House that there is a direct relationship now, a new structure, for approving spending that will provide taxpayers and parliamentarians with a clear and traceable line between spending approvals and specific government programs. No other government has done this. We are proud of the initiatives that we have taken to improve transparency and improve the ability of parliamentarians to review the budget.

[Service Canada, November 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the facts are clear: it is possible to reduce funding while protecting services to Canadians.

The opposition has never met a program it does not love. It wants to increase, to over-tax, to over-regulate and to over-spend. That is the opposition's modus operandi.

That is not the way we work. We protect services to Canadians. We will continue to do so, but we will do so in a way that reduces the cost to Canadians because we respect the taxpayer.

[Service Canada, November 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as I already said, the departments provided information to Parliament about their finances in a recent report that is available to the public. Mr. Page's statements have been contradicted by information that clearly shows that operational efficiency is the reason for approximately 70% of the current savings.

[Service Canada, November 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the facts remain the same. They were found in budget 2012. We have since published quarterly financial reports, public accounts and other means of reporting to Parliament, which clearly indicate that 70% of reductions to this budget are to back-office operations and other non-core essential services that affect Canadians.

That is the promise we made to Canadians. We stand by that promise because we are acting in their interest, unlike the $21 billion carbon tax that the opposition seems fetish like in agreeing with and wanting to impose upon the people of Canada.

[Intergovernmental Affairs, November 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, what I can report on is the fact that the latest public accounts make it very clear that spending in ministers' offices has declined by 11.4%. This is the respect for the taxpayers that this government holds true to and will continue to do so in the future.

[Government Accountability, November 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, we continue to be accountable to Parliament in accordance with the usual procedures regarding estimates, quarterly financial reports and public accounts. The departments provide Parliament with public information about their finances, and the government continues to provide the PBO information in accordance with his mandate.

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, before the beginning of a fiscal year, the Treasury Board approves departmental reference levels for the upcoming fiscal year and future fiscal years. The reference levels for a department are the total of the spending for all the programs and initiatives for which the department is responsible. The reference levels for the upcoming fiscal year are presented in the main estimates by department and vote. Through approval of the appropriation act supported by the main estimates, Parliament places limits on the amounts each department can spend on operating, capital and transfer payment expenditures.

Departmental spending is not approved by Parliament on a program activity basis. Estimates of program activity spending are provided to Parliament for information purposes only. As a result, Treasury Board does not approve reallocations of funds between programs or activities. Departments manage their inventory of programs and initiatives within the spending limits authorized by Parliament. Within these limits, departments may reallocate funds between programs and determine the most appropriate mix of resources needed to efficiently and effectively deliver those programs. In the guidance on the preparation of the departmental performance reports, http://publiservice.tbs-sct.gc.ca/estsd-bddc/dpr-rmr/template-modele/ed-de-2011-12-eng.rtf, departments are instructed to explain significant variances between planned spending, total authorities and actual spending by program activity.

If a department needs to change its overall authorities, to reprofile spending authority from one fiscal year to another or to move funds from one type of vote to another, Treasury Board approval must be obtained. Those changes are then reflected in an appropriation act, and subsequently submitted to Parliament for approval.

Supplementary estimates documents, http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ems-sgd/esp-pbc/se-bs-eng.asp, now include information on reprofiled funds where applicable in explaining funds available in the vote.