On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Gagné, seconded by the Honourable Senator Gold, P.C., for the third reading of Bill C-15, An Act for granting to Her Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022.

Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate) moved third reading of Bill C-15, An Act for granting to Her Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022.

She said: Honourable senators, I am pleased to rise today to introduce the appropriation bill for the 2021-22 Supplementary Estimates (C).

Through this appropriation bill, the government requests Parliament’s approval of the planned spending proposals that are detailed in the Supplementary Estimates (C).

[English]

As my esteemed colleagues well know, the appropriation bill is a vehicle through which payments from the Consolidated Revenue Fund are authorized for government programs and services.

The voted amounts in these supplementary estimates represent maximum “up to” ceilings or estimates. It is, therefore, not out of the ordinary if these amounts are not fully spent over the course of the year. The actual expenditures are listed in the Public Accounts of Canada, which are tabled after the end of the fiscal year.

The estimates family of documents, which consists of the Main Estimates, supplementary estimates, departmental plans and departmental results reports, in conjunction with the public accounts, help parliamentarians scrutinize government spending. This scrutiny is a key element of our parliamentary system. This scrutiny, we must acknowledge, is not always a straightforward matter.

A number of our colleagues on the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance did express some difficulty in ascertaining information in a timely fashion. I want to assure my colleagues that the Government Representative Office in the Senate has taken note, and continues to consistently deploy its best efforts to bring this to the attention of the government.

[Translation]

That said, I will talk about the Supplementary Estimates (C), 2021-22, which form the basis of this appropriation bill.

As my colleagues know, supplementary estimates present information on additional spending requirements that were either not sufficiently developed in time for inclusion in the Main Estimates or that were subsequently refined to account for recent developments.

The Supplementary Estimates (C), 2021-22, were tabled in the Senate on February 21, 2022. These are the third and final supplementary estimates for the current fiscal year.

In general, they provide information on $13.2 billion in new voted spending for 70 federal organizations. They also present information on an additional amount of $3.9 billion in planned statutory budgetary expenditures.

It is important to note that these statutory expenditures were authorized either under existing laws or in the proposed—

Hon. Percy Mockler: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance, which deals with Supplementary Estimates (C) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, and I move that the report be placed on the Orders of the Day for consideration at the next sitting of the Senate.

I would like to acknowledge, on behalf of the steering committee of National Finance, all members of the National Finance Committee for their dedication and hard work.

[Translation]

Furthermore, all members of the committee join me in thanking the clerk, Mireille Aubé, and the entire support team for their dedication to the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance.

(On motion of Senator Mockler, report placed on the Orders of the Day for consideration at the next sitting of the Senate.)

[English]

Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate) moved third reading of Bill C-16, An Act for granting to Her Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023.

She said: Honourable senators, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today to Appropriation Bill No. 1, 2022-23, the government’s interim supply bill.

As you know, interim supply bills are an integral part of the normal supply cycle. In order for federal government agencies to operate, they must obtain parliamentary authority to spend public funds.

[English]

This authority is provided in two ways: through annual appropriation acts that specify the amounts and broad purposes for which funds can be spent, and through other specific statutes that authorize payments and set out the amounts and time periods for those payments.

The amounts approved through appropriation acts are referred to as voted amounts, and the expenditure authorities provided through other statutes are called statutory authorities.

[Translation]

Estimates documents are prepared to support supply bills and provide additional information on voted amounts included in those bills.

Estimates documents also include, for information only, the expenditure authorities provided to Parliament through other statutes, in other words, statutory authorities. While the Main Estimates provide an overview of spending needs for the upcoming fiscal year, the supplementary estimates present information on additional spending requirements.

These are requirements that were either not sufficiently developed in time for inclusion in the Main Estimates or that were subsequently refined to account for developments in particular programs and services.

[English]

Through the Main Estimates, the government sets out the amounts it needs to fund its operations for the fiscal year ahead, which begins on April 1. The government then tables an interim supply bill to authorize funding for the first three months of the fiscal year until parliamentarians can adequately study and give final approval to the Main Estimates in June.

The spending requested through this interim supply bill is, therefore, already included in the Main Estimates. It does not represent new spending.

Another detail about interim supply is that the amounts requested are typically based on twelfths of the amounts in the Main Estimates, notionally corresponding to monthly cash requirements. For most departmental votes, the requested interim supply represents three twelfths of the total voted authorities in the Main Estimates for the fiscal year.

In addition, for business reasons, departments may ask for more interim supply than the standard three twelfths.

This requires providing a justification to Treasury Board Secretariat, which identifies the programs, projects or payments that require additional appropriation in the first three months of the fiscal year.

Once the justification is reviewed and accepted, additional twelfths are included in the interim supply bill for parliamentary approval.

[Translation]

Colleagues, this year, the normal supply cycle is being followed. The President of the Treasury Board tabled the Main Estimates in the House of Commons on March 1, and the interim supply bill was tabled in the House of Commons on March 24. In the coming months, parliamentarians will have the opportunity to carefully examine all of the government’s spending plans before being invited to approve the remaining voted items presented in the Main Estimates through Appropriation Act No. 1, 2022-23, which is expected in June.

[English]

Through this interim supply bill, which is Appropriation Act No. 1, the government is seeking Parliament’s approval of $75.5 billion in budgetary expenditures.

Honourable senators, the Main Estimates for the fiscal year 2022-23, of which this interim supply is a portion, present the government’s ongoing commitment to meeting Canadians’ priorities. They continue to provide economic support to individuals and businesses for a post-pandemic recovery.

As you will recall, the Main Estimates provided information on $397.6 billion in proposed spending for 126 organizations, including $190.3 billion in voted expenditures and $207.3 billion in statutory expenditures.

[Translation]

As a reminder, statutory expenditures are presented in the Main Estimates for information purposes only, as they are authorized through other legislation and are not voted.

Thanks to the interim supply bill, the government will be able to do the following: implement projects started in the spring, such as Canada Summer Jobs, through Employment and Social Development Canada; make payments to the provinces and territories for home and community care, mental health and addiction services, and virtual and long-term care through Health Canada; purchase supplies of COVID-19 therapeutics, protective equipment or medical supplies through Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada; and fulfill its legal obligations towards Indigenous communities, such as the McLean agreement-in-principle on Indian day schools or self-government agreements, through Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.

[English]

Honourable senators, it’s also worth noting that COVID-19 measures represent roughly $9.2 billion, or 4.8%, of total voted budgetary expenditures in the Main Estimates. In addition, for the 2022-23 fiscal year, major economic response programs are enacted or amended by an act to provide further support in response to COVID-19 — Bill C-2.

The act extended wage and rent subsidies, increased the maximum number of weeks and extended the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit, and enacted the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit Act to authorize the payment of the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit in regions where a lockdown is imposed for reasons related to COVID-19. This reflects the government’s continuing commitment to invest in Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic from economic support for citizens and businesses to health care.

[Translation]

Honourable senators, the government has acted quickly over the past two years to provide financial support to individuals, businesses and the health care system.

The government created programs, such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, the Canada Emergency Student Benefit and the Canada Wage Subsidy, and it also provided targeted support to the regions, the economic sector, and the non‑profits that help Canadians.

We must ensure that all federal organizations can continue to operate this spring and summer and deliver the programs and services that Canadians rely on every day and that address any needs related to COVID-19.

These organizations need the financial capacity to do so. The interim funding set out in this bill will give them the financial capacity they need until the Main Estimates are studied, debated and passed later this spring.

Allow me to digress before I speak about transparency. The federal government moved swiftly to implement new programs to support and serve the public. These programs made a difference for millions of people in Canada, on top of the existing programs and services. To do that, the government relied on an engaged public service that demonstrated bold, unprecedented leadership during this crisis. I want to take this opportunity to salute their dedication and thank them publicly.

[English]

Honourable senators, I would also like to emphasize the continuing importance the government puts on providing clear and easy-to-access information. The government recognizes that Canadians and parliamentarians have the right to know, scrutinize and question how all public funds are spent.

Therefore, I invite my honourable colleagues to refer to all the additional information about the government’s spending plans in recent estimates. For each of these estimates, the government has published a detailed listing of the expenditure authorities approved by Parliament through other legislation.

(At 4 p.m., pursuant to the order adopted by the Senate on November 25, 2021, the Senate adjourned until 2 p.m., tomorrow.)