Government Operations committee  I'll take a stab at a response. The suggestion that this is a culture that's resistant to change reflects some of the complexity of the environment. It's a big operation, with 135 appropriation-dependent departments, cabinet committees, the executive, the legislative branch.

Government Operations committee  Can I just add to that?

Government Operations committee  The supplementary estimates (A) are relatively new introductions to the cycle. It was done at the request of parliamentarians and the Auditor General, who called for more timely allocation of appropriated money to departments. In the previous construct, when the first supplementary estimates of the year were in the fall, Parliament wasn't approving that appropriation until December, so nine-twelfths of the fiscal year had elapsed before departments were getting their money.

Government Operations committee  It was in the spring of 2007.