Government Operations committee  Under the government's expenditure management system, the government makes its decisions about where to allocate its resources. This ultimately shows up in the form of supply in the House. It is now under review. In the budget, the government laid out the principles that guide us.

Government Operations committee  That's correct.

Government Operations committee  It was $1 billion.

Government Operations committee  I think the budget statement was very clear. That billion dollars became part of the $5.5 billion that the government reinvested in the priorities that it identified in the budget.

Government Operations committee  They obviously had not been acted upon. Whether there had been discussion in the past as to whether or not programs were achieving their results and ought to stay in place is a different question. I wouldn't have a record of those conversations, but anything that was eliminated or cut in this exercise obviously had not been cut before.

Government Operations committee  I genuinely would have no record or sense of that. Do you, Mr. Moloney?

Government Operations committee  I think you would have to ask each of the ministers and deputies who were involved two questions: one would be the extent of their knowledge about their stakeholders and possible impacts and their ability to be able to speak to those issues; and two, in those situations where they weren't comfortable, whether they had any kind of consultation with stakeholders.

Government Operations committee  The government ultimately is responsible to Parliament, and ministers will stand up when they need to in order to report intended results and achieved results.

Government Operations committee  In fact, on September 25, when the President of the Treasury Board and the Minister of Finance announced this, they actually announced that this was the conclusion to this process, but that going forward they would ensure a tighter approach to expenditure management. I believe the language they used—I don't have it in front of me—was that they would ensure that departments only receive spending required for effective programming that achieved results.

Government Operations committee  Let me respond briefly. My colleague can pick up the question of the literacy program in Manitoba. As a public servant, the rhetoric is a little hard for me to deal with. In the same budget in which the government announced its plan to reduce spending by a billion dollars, it also announced its intention to spend $224 billion this year.

Government Operations committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. David Maloney and myself are appearing on behalf of Treasury Board and are pleased to be here to answer your questions in the context of your study of budget cuts announced on September 25, 2006. We are here to follow up on the appearance on October 17 of the President of the Treasury Board, the Honourable John Baird; the Secretary of the Treasury Board, Mr.