Government Operations committee  In particular, AECL.... As you know, they've had some challenges. The way the government contingency vote works is that a case is made; it is effectively approved; and money is provided; and then we come back later through the estimates process to effectively top that back up.

Government Operations committee  Vote 10, government-wide Initiatives, is typically used for projects that involve multiple departments, typically around improving efficiencies or service delivery, and those types of things. I can't recall off the top of my head if we have funding in vote 10 for this.

Government Operations committee  While the secretary is looking for that, what you'll find in the public accounts is the actual display of the authorities that were available for use, as well as the actual spending. You will not actually see an explanation as to why. Typically, with a program like that, you're waiting for projects to be submitted and approved and evaluated, and all of those things.

Government Operations committee  If I understand correctly, this is in Mr. Page's report. He has provided an analysis of the estimates to date, which is for the main estimates plus supplementary estimates (A) and supplementary estimates (B). The amount that's actually driving that is the Treasury Board central vote related to severance, which we discussed a bit earlier at this meeting.

Government Operations committee  The agreement was not for all of AECL. It was for part of AECL.

Government Operations committee  That part of the organization actually had some refurbishment or life extension types of projects--I believe the Bruce Power plant is one, and there's one in Korea--which are known to be incurring costs greater than the revenue. That was the part of the deal where the government agreed, as the secretary mentioned, to put a cap on how much, but basically backstopped the liabilities on those three or four specific projects.

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, the advantage for CRA is that they can offset student loans against tax refunds. So you have an integrated collector there, because CRA--

Government Operations committee  Merci. I just wanted to find the actual amount given in the supplementary estimates to Public Works, and there is funding for the renovation of the parliamentary buildings. There's nothing in here about recovery of costs. The way cost recovery works, as the secretary indicated, is that it shows up in the public accounts.

Government Operations committee  There are two pieces to AECL, as I mentioned. The first piece relates to the ongoing operations of AECL. That's the voted bit. The second piece relates to the divestiture. You're right, the sale has been concluded. That agreement actually included an acknowledgement by that new company that there were some projects under way that were started by AECL and that are over budget.

Government Operations committee  It's correct that it's cash, but the more important point is that it's an annual appropriation. With few exceptions, where we have a few agencies that get multi-year funding, it's an annual appropriation. It expires at March 31 if you have not spent it, and that's why we have to come back in the new fiscal year to get it.

Government Operations committee  I would say yes. Again, it depends on the model that you're using, but if you actually look at an annual system, if it's not incurred in the year, you would have to come back for Parliament's authority yet again. So it's not a matter of cash versus accrual; it's a matter of it being annual.

Government Operations committee  I can't speak for all, but I will say that provincially you have a mix. Municipalities typically operate more on a cash basis than the more senior governments. In the federal government you have a mix of accrual and cash. The estimates are cash; the budget is accrual. Municipalities were actually very slow to make the transition off cash, so I would expect they were largely dealing on a cash basis.

Government Operations committee  To explain that, it is important to understand that the supplementary estimates are not an estimate of— Don't rely on the supplementary estimates to judge whether departments forecasted properly. This is solely a case of when departments actually received Treasury Board authority to spend money.

Government Operations committee  I take your point that it is difficult to follow. The reason is that with the central vote allocations, the Treasury Board actually has the authority to transfer those moneys out to departments. But I appreciate the point that it's not clear, and we have noted it.

Government Operations committee  Just bear with me for one moment.