Government Operations committee  I think inclusivity and employment equity are very important, but I'm an official here to answer questions on supplementary estimates, the estimates process and the funding that is in here. There is a whole host of initiatives and data that exist, including the public sector empl

Government Operations committee  In terms of reconciliation, I can't comment on the budget.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for your question, Mrs. Vignola. Ultimately, the connecting Canadians program is about ensuring that citizens in rural, remote and northern parts of the country can enjoy access to the commerce, the employment opportunities and, of course, the distance education. The i

Government Operations committee  No, we are talking about 288,000 families.

Government Operations committee  I think those are transfers to families to ensure that they have an Internet connection.

Government Operations committee  This is a circumstance where this item was not able to get into supplementary estimates (A). As a consequence, a payment is required for that.

Government Operations committee  It's just a circumstance, Mr. McCauley, where I'm giving you the context. It was not in supplementary estimates (A). It was funded and now it's listed and frozen until such a point as it's approved.

Government Operations committee  You're correct. There are many pillars, and there are many aspects to estimates reform. The timing item that was discussed earlier is one of them. Of course, the cash and accrual alignment, the alignment between budget and estimates, is a second one. In terms of the purpose-base

Government Operations committee  When you think about the budget, fiscal forecasting and the deficit, we operate on an accrual basis. But in terms of supply and the main estimates, these documents, we operate on a modified cash basis. We effectively deal with cash with departments, and Parliament is charged with

Government Operations committee  Could I just add one point?

Government Operations committee  On your initial question about student loans policy, budget 2016 did have a lot of information on that, in moving more toward grants as opposed to loans. That's a useful resource and something for linking with the ESDC colleagues.

Government Operations committee  Let me start by saying that, in terms of my comment about misrepresentation, if the word is strong, I don't know if there's a.... My point was—

Government Operations committee  My point is the use of the vote has varied over the years, as you outlined, so I wasn't referring to that. It had to do more about references to the controls and the authorities and the oversight and the transparency related to the item.

Government Operations committee  It's about circumstances, where if a partial or full payment is required before the next appropriation act can be tabled, and—

Government Operations committee  —when it's a strategic, horizontal initiative for government, details on the initiative are provided, just like any other initiative, to parliamentarians. It comes with a Treasury Board authority and then the use of it, the allocation from it, is disclosed very clearly for all pa