Hon. Elizabeth Marshall: Thank you, Senator LaBoucane-Benson, for your comments on Bill C-54, and welcome to the club.

As the critic of the bill, I also have comments, and the first thing I want to mention is that what we’re being asked to approve today is authority for the government to spend $108.7 billion. I’m not going to be brief because I’m going to go through a lot of the work that the committee did.

Bill C-54, which is supported by the 2023-24 Main Estimates, is requesting $108.7 billion. Honourable senators may recall that Bill C-44, which received Royal Assent on March 30, provided the government with $89 billion in Interim Estimates until these Main Estimates are approved. The $108 billion in this bill, along with the $89 billion approved in Interim Estimates, reflect the $198 billion outlined in the Main Estimates. The Main Estimates, which support this bill, were tabled before the budget was tabled, and as a result, the Main Estimates in this bill do not include any new budget initiatives for this year. I can assure you the government is going to spend the full $108.7 billion, and they’re going to come back for more.

However, it is important to realize that this is just a portion of the government’s spending for this year. In addition to this $198 billion, there is also estimated statutory spending of another $235 billion, as well as Employment Insurance benefits of $24 billion and the Canada child benefit in the amount of $26 billion.

In summary, while the Main Estimates provide some details on the $198 billion, the document also discloses that actual expenditures this year are projected to be $487 billion. With the release of Budget 2023, the government now projects total expenses for this year to be $490 billion.

The $109 billion in this bill is being requested by 130 government departments and organizations. Two of the organizations requesting funding — the Law Commission of Canada and the Federal Bridge Corporation Limited — did not receive any funding last year. A third organization, the VIA HFR-TGF Inc., was incorporated as a subsidiary of Via Rail Canada Inc. in November of last year to manage the development of the new High Frequency Rail project.

Of the 29 organizations requesting increases of at least 10% compared to the amount they requested in last year’s Main Estimates, these increases amount to over $3 billion for 7 of those organizations. These seven organizations are Crown‑Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada; Transport Canada; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; Natural Resources Canada; Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation; Treasury Board Secretariat; and Canada Revenue Agency.

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada is requesting an additional $3.3 billion from $5.8 billion last year to $9.1 billion this year. Out of the increase of $3.3 billion, $2.9 billion is for the Gottfriedson Band class settlement agreement. This is a trust fund established to help revitalize Indigenous language, culture and heritage lost during the residential school years. It is to be operated independently of the federal government, and it will be governed by a board of nine Indigenous directors, one of whom is to be chosen by the federal government. Also included in the $3.3 billion increase is $475 million to implement comprehensive land claims and self‑government agreements and other agreements to address the rights of section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

Given the extent of funding requested by the department for the settlement of claims, agreements and treaties, departmental officials informed us that the department maintains a database to track these claims. In terms of specific claims alone, officials estimate there are over 500 of these claims. This makes it difficult for parliamentarians to track the progress of these claims, and officials committed to providing the 20 major outstanding claims and settlements to assist us in our work.

Officials from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada told us that one of their targets this year is to conclude 35 specific claim settlements, so this should help parliamentarians in tracking claims.

Indigenous Services Canada is requesting $39 billion, which is comparable to the $39 billion in last year’s Main Estimates. The main item in each year is the approximate $20 billion budgeted for compensation to an estimated 300,000 Indigenous children and families. The origins of this settlement began in 2016 when the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal concluded that the federal government had discriminated against First Nations children for years by not properly funding child welfare services on reserves.

The recent agreement between the federal government, the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society will deliver $23.3 billion to an estimated 300,000 Indigenous children and families.

Departmental officials testified that the amount included in Main Estimates is slightly more than the $20 billion originally requested. Officials indicated that an additional $981 million has been requested in these Main Estimates. However, the other $2.3 billion has yet to be identified in the government’s fiscal framework.

Our National Finance Committee was interested in the departmental results for both Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and how the “deliverology” method and results reporting have evolved over the past eight years. Witnesses from both departments told the committee that they had been refining their Departmental Results Reports and specifically their performance indicators in partnership with Indigenous First Nations. Officials from Indigenous Services Canada informed us that they have introduced a new results framework in their 2023-24 Departmental Plan. There is still work to be done in terms of outcome performance measures, and they are working with Indigenous organizations to establish those performance indicators.

Officials from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada indicated that their departmental results framework has also changed quite significantly over the years, and they are working in partnership with Indigenous First Nations to develop meaningful goals.

For the most recent departmental results for 2021-22, Indigenous Services Canada met just 14 of their 79 performance indicators, or just over 17%. Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada met 17 of their 39 performance indicators, or just over 43%.

Departments and agencies, on average, met just over 49% of their performance indicators, so both departments are just below the average. We will be following up on their progress to determine the changes they are making to their performance indicators and the extent of their progress.

Each year, the Parliamentary Budget Officer issues numerous reports including one on the Main Estimates and one each on Supplementary Estimates (A), (B) and (C). In addition, he appears at the Senate National Finance Committee to discuss each of his reports and respond to questions.

This year, the Parliamentary Budget Officer released his report on the 2023-24 Main Estimates on March 3 and testified before the Senate National Finance Committee on April 18. His report on the Main Estimates emphasizes the spending allocated to elderly benefits, health care and professional and special services. He indicated that 1 in every $6 will be spent on elderly benefits and 1 in every $9 will be spent on health care. Professional and special services are estimated at $20 billion and has increased significantly over the last number of years.

Federal spending on elderly benefits is the single largest area of government spending, which is comprised of Old Age Security, the Guaranteed Income Supplement and Allowance payments. Elderly payments are expected to increase to $76.6 billion this year, an increase of 11%, after being impacted by a larger number of seniors, inflation to which benefits are indexed and policy decisions which have increased benefits, such as the 10% top-up for those 75 years and older, estimated to cost $2.6 billion in this fiscal year and which was approved in Budget 2021.

The Canada Health Transfer — or CHT, as we call it — is the largest single transfer to provinces and territories and is used to pay for health care. In February of this year, the government announced a new agreement to provide additional monies for health care, including $2 billion to address urgent pressures in emergency rooms, operating rooms and pediatric hospitals. This $2 billion was included in the budget.

In addition, the government committed to increasing the CHT by 5% each year over the next five years rather than the original 3%. The Main Estimates of the Department of Finance discloses $49.4 billion for the Canada Health Transfer. However, Budget 2023, released subsequently to the Main Estimates, indicates that funding for the CHT this year will be just over $55 billion.

The Main Estimates also includes $19.5 billion for professional and special services, the majority of which is spent by the Department of National Defence; Public Services and Procurement Canada; Public Safety Canada; Indigenous Services Canada; and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. This $19.5 billion is about $2.2 billion more than the amount in last year’s Main Estimates.

Budget 2023, released after the Main Estimates, committed to reducing spending on consulting, professional services and travel by $500 million in this year and $6.6 billion over the following four years.

During testimony on April 18, the Parliamentary Budget Officer discussed these and other items, including the benefits of a long-term human resources plan, since the number of public service employees and their related costs have increased significantly in recent years. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said that a long-term human resources plan could help the government ensure that it has the right skill set in its public service and has the capacity to deliver on its policy priorities, rather than what we have seen recently — increasing the numbers of public servants and increasing the use of consultants and outside services, but still, in some instances, failing to deliver on the services that Canadians expect.

According to the Departmental Results Reports for the past four years, less than 50% of targets are met each year. These reports, along with the Departmental Plans, are intended to assist parliamentarians in their review of the government’s proposed spending plan. However, given the low numbers of targets being met, the usefulness of the data is questionable.

The government’s Results and Delivery program and their “deliverology” program were implemented in 2016, with the appointment of Mr. Matthew Mendelsohn as the Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet in the Privy Council Office, responsible for the Results and Delivery Unit.

The Results and Delivery Unit tracked ministerial mandate letter commitments, as well as performance indicators established by each department and organization. The unit was responsible for assisting departments in determining the objectives of policies and programs and how they would be evaluated. In other words, the Results and Delivery Unit was to help government departments and agencies to systematically and consistently focus on delivery and results.

Mr. Mendelsohn left the government in 2020, and subsequent organizational charts show the Results and Delivery Unit being pushed further and further down in the organizational chart of the Privy Council Office.

The Department of National Defence is requesting $24.7 billion compared to the $24.2 billion requested in the Main Estimates last year. Some senators, as well as some Canadians, were expecting the Main Estimates of the department to include a larger or much larger increase in funding. Of particular interest was Canada’s level of defence spending compared to other NATO countries. I spoke on this issue in March.

Canada has been a member of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, since 1949. In 2006, NATO members agreed with the goal of setting their annual defence spending to at least 2% of GDP. Since making this commitment, Canada has never achieved this goal. The world has changed in the past few years. The war in Ukraine as well as Canada’s changing relationships with China and Russia have led to a shifting in priorities.

Many Canadians and some parliamentarians are concerned about the level of funding provided to the military, especially given problems such as the chronic recruitment issues that have left the Canadian Armed Forces short by 10,000 personnel; our minuscule and antiquated submarine fleet; Canada’s exclusion from the recent tripartite military pact in which three of our biggest allies — the U.S., the U.K. and Australia — will work together to respond to China’s growing aggression in the Indo-Pacific; and Canada’s inability to procure armaments and equipment in a timely manner. Especially concerning is Ottawa’s refusal to meet its NATO obligation to spend 2% of its GDP on defence.

VIA Rail is requesting $1.2 billion in Main Estimates, and its wholly owned subsidiary is requesting $43 million. The subsidiary was incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act in November 2022 as a wholly owned subsidiary of VIA Rail Canada Inc. Because it was incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act and not under its own legislation, it does not receive the same parliamentary oversight. Information on the structure of the corporation, its mandate, its governance structure, its relationship with its parent company and its reporting requirements is not readily available to parliamentarians and Canadians.

Officials from the subsidiary testified at our Senate Finance Committee, along with VIA Rail, its parent company, and provided some additional information. For example, information that is publicly available, including information on the subsidiary’s website, disclosed three directors. However, we were told at committee by witnesses that there will be seven directors.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada is requesting parliamentary approval to spend $5.6 billion. Of this sum, $5 billion will be disbursed as grants and contributions for a number of programs, such as the Strategic Innovation Fund, the Universal Broadband Fund, the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Global Innovation Clusters.

Some senators were interested in the recent $13-billion announcement for the Volkswagen battery plant in Ontario, but witnesses were unable — or unwilling — to answer questions on this item. Of particular interest was whether there was any funding for the Volkswagen battery plant included in the Main Estimates. A sum of $13 billion is a significant outlay of public funds, and the question is whether this expenditure has been included in the government’s financial projections. Given that the government projects its fiscal requirements over a five-year time frame, the question arises as to whether this $13 billion is included in the government’s financial requirements and financial projections. You may recall that I asked Senator Gold that question a couple of days ago in the Senate.

Officials were also unable to answer questions regarding the impact that the department’s innovation funding, through its various programs, is having on innovation within Canada. Given that the government just established the Canada Growth Fund, approving $15 billion this year, as well as the Canada innovation corporation, approving $3 billion over the next four years, how does the government know these new corporations will increase growth and innovation if it does not know the impact of existing billion-dollar programs?

The Canada Revenue Agency is requesting $4.5 billion, which is a $400 million increase when compared to last year’s Main Estimates. Departmental officials informed us that $224 million of the $400-million increase is associated with funding to combat tax avoidance and tax evasion and primarily for initiatives announced in Budget 2022. The funding will be used to expand the audits of larger entities and non-residents engaged in aggressive tax planning. It will also be used to increase the investigation and prosecution of those engaged in criminal tax evasion.

Agency officials told us that there are many challenges in addressing tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. They said schemes and structures are becoming more complex, and taxpayers are becoming more litigious, making greater access to the courts to delay access to information and evidence.

Several senators were interested in the agency’s work in measuring and reporting on the tax gap. The tax gap measures the potential tax revenue loss resulting from tax non-compliance. Officials informed our committee that they have not measured the tax gap beyond the year 2018, and for that year, the tax gap was estimated to be between $35 billion and $40 billion. This is a substantial amount of money, and even if the government could collect a fraction of this amount, it would have a significant impact on the deficit.

While the agency says it is addressing issues such as the tax gap, overseas accounts, tax evasion, tax avoidance and the underground economy, there is frustration with regard to the activities of the agency, as well as the lack of reporting information. While the agency’s website provides some information on the tax gap and the Panama, Paradise and Pandora Papers, it is not included in the annual report. It is not current. It is difficult to find on the agency’s website. It does not convey the impression that all taxpayers are being treated equally and fairly.

Canadians, parliamentarians and even the Canada Revenue Agency would be better served if current information was more easily available or disclosed in their annual report.

As colleagues are aware, Senator Downe’s Bill S-258 was referred to our National Finance Committee. The bill will require the agency to list all convictions for tax evasion, including international tax evasion, in the agency’s annual report to the Minister of National Revenue. The bill will also require the agency once every three years to include statistics on the tax gap in the agency’s annual report.

Finally, Bill S-258 will also require the minister to provide the Parliamentary Budget Officer with data to conduct a further analysis of the tax gap.

I support Senator Downe’s Bill S-258.

Veterans Affairs Canada is requesting $5.9 billion compared to $5.5 billion requested last year, an increase of 8%. Over 90% of the funding of the department is used to pay benefits to veterans. Most of the increase this year will be used to pay for an increase in funding to veterans.

Specifically, $338 million of the increase will be used to compensate veterans for pain and suffering. Another $120 million of the increase will be used to pay the Income Replacement Benefit.

Since the department provides services and benefits that respond to the needs of veterans and their families, these programs are open-ended and the cost depends on the number of veterans accessing benefits, as well as the cost-of-living increases which are based on Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index.

One of the major issues facing Veterans Affairs Canada is the length of time it takes the department to process veterans’ applications for benefits. The department’s service standard is to process a veteran’s application within a 16-week time frame. Last year, officials told us there was a backlog of applications, that is, those exceeding the 16-week processing time frame.

Of the 30,000 applications in the queue last year, 11,500 exceeded the 16-week time frame. At that time, the department had said they were committed to reducing the backlog to 5,000 applications as of March 31, 2023. During testimony this year, officials told us that they had made some progress. While they had not met their original target, they have reduced their backlog to 6,800 cases.

Employment and Social Development Canada is requesting $11.1 billion compared to the $11.4 billion requested in last year’s Main Estimates. In addition to the $11.1 billion requested in this bill, the department already has the authority under other legislation to spend $83 billion for a number of other programs, including $58 billion for Old Age Security payments and $17.7 billion for the Guaranteed Income Supplement.

Also included in this bill is $6.1 billion for payments to the provinces and territories under the Early Learning and Child Care program, which was announced in Budget 2021 at a cost of $30 billion over the next five years. Payments to each of the provinces and territories over each of the five years is disclosed in Volume 1 of the Public Accounts of Canada 2022.

The objectives of the program were outlined in Budget 2021 when it was announced. The mandate letter of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development requires the minister to implement the objectives of this $30 billion program. In addition, the government’s results and delivery policy requires the government’s Open Government website to track mandate letter commitments. Two of these commitments include the creation of 250,000 new high-quality child care spaces, plus the hiring of 40,000 more early childhood educators by March 2026. Although billions of dollars are being disbursed by the government, these commitments are not being disclosed on the government’s website as required by government policy.

During meetings, departmental officials told us that as of February of this year, over 50,000 new child care spaces have been created. They said this has been determined by conversations with the provinces and territories. However, there is no information on the federal government’s website, as required by policy.

Rather, officials told us that public disclosure is the responsibility of the provinces and territories. However, since the government is providing $30 billion for this program, and has established objectives which are measurable — for example, 250,000 new spaces and the 40,000 early childhood educators — progress should be reported in the department’s Departmental Results Reports.

Of concern is the child care crisis being experienced across Canada. From the West Coast, to the Prairies, through Central and Eastern Canada, all the way to my home province of Newfoundland and Labrador, I have read countless media articles lamenting the lack of child care spaces and the impossibility of hiring enough workers to staff daycares or to pay them adequately.

Competition for spaces is intense and inadequately remunerated workers are leaving. These issues should have been addressed before billions of dollars were promised for this policy, but since they weren’t, it is being experienced now. It should be addressed by the federal, provincial and territorial governments.

Media articles highlight these issues. Last week, the CBC posted an article about early child care workers in Ontario leaving the profession and the millions of dollars more that are needed. A month ago, Global News reported the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report stated that Manitoba was a child care desert, and it is not alone; another CBC article says that Saskatchewan is a similar desert.

Provinces and territories are uneven in the way they present their statistics on child care spaces and positions created. It has been very difficult to compile the information ourselves, and we should not have to.

Employment and Social Development Canada should devote specific, up-to-date information that offers data on what has been accomplished across the country. That way, Canadians and parliamentarians can monitor the progress of the implementation of the new child care policy program.

I am encouraged that Bill C-35, An Act respecting early learning and child care in Canada, has received first reading in the Senate and hopefully will be referred to a Senate committee for study.

This concludes my comments on Bill C-54 and the Main Estimates for 2023-24. In closing, I extend my appreciation to my colleagues for their contribution to our study, and their support, including our chair, Senator Mockler, and our deputy chair, Senator Forest.

Thank you also to our committee clerk, our analysts and staff, who ensure our meetings are productive and run smoothly.

Thank you, senators, for your attention.

Hon. Elizabeth Marshall: Honourable senators, before I start, I’d like to tell my colleagues that I’m going to be brief in my speech. I think people are getting tired.

I want to start by thanking Senator LaBoucane-Benson for her comments on Bill C-55. As the critic of the bill, I have a few other comments.

This bill is requesting parliamentary approval of $20 billion in voted expenditures. When we think about billions of dollars, I think we’re getting used to the big numbers, but it’s $20 billion in voted authorities for 26 government departments and agencies. The bill itself is supported by the Supplementary Estimates (A) document, which provides some limited information on what the money will be used for.

This request for $20 billion is significantly higher than the $8.8 billion requested in last year’s Supplementary Estimates (A). Of the $20 billion requested in this bill, $4.4 billion is for Budget 2023 initiatives — my colleague outlined what they are, so I won’t repeat that — and $1 billion is for Budget 2022 initiatives.

This bill is the third appropriation act for this year. We often refer to appropriation acts as “supply bills” because they effectively supply the government with money to operate and carry out government programs.

The first appropriation act for this year was for interim supply, which approved about 40% of the money identified in the Main Estimates. This provided the government with money to operate until the end of June. This first appropriation act, Bill C-44, was enacted on March 30 of this year. Now we have just debated the second appropriation act for this year, Bill C-54, with the remainder of the Main Estimates. Once it receives Royal Assent, the government will have the authority to spend $108.7 billion.

Since the first two appropriation acts have already provided the government with the authority to spend $198 billion, this appropriation act for $20 billion will increase the spending authority to $218 billion. However, as I have indicated many times previously — they say you have to repeat something eight times before people really get it — the $218 billion requested in the first three appropriation acts does not include all of the government’s spending. The government also has the authority under numerous other acts to spend, and we refer to these amounts as “statutory expenditures.” Statutory expenditures for this year are currently estimated to be $236 billion, which is in addition to the $218 billion that will be approved by the appropriation acts. There is also authority for the Employment Insurance benefits, estimated at $24 billion, and the Canada Child Benefit, which is another $25 billion. When you add up all these amounts, the government’s estimate of what it will spend this year amounts to $490 billion.

Last year in Supplementary Estimates (A), the government estimated that it would spend $452 billion during the entire year, but it actually spent more than the $452 billion it estimated. It spent $470 billion. This year in Supplementary Estimates (A), the government estimates it will spend $490 billion during the entire year. However, we are only three months into the year, and as each financial document is released, the numbers go in one direction — up — so I expect that expenses will exceed $500 billion this year — or a staggering half a trillion dollars.

I will now talk about a couple of the departments requesting funding. The first is the Department of Indigenous Services. Of the $20 billion requested in this bill, the Department of Indigenous Services is requesting $4.8 billion, of which $4.4 billion will support a final settlement agreement related to the First Nations Child and Family Services program and Jordan’s Principle. It will also support the continued delivery of immediate measures required by the tribunal orders and items agreed to as part of the Agreement-in-Principle on Long-Term Reform of the program and Jordan’s Principle.

Honourable senators may recall that I have spoken many times on this recent agreement between the federal government, the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society to compensate the estimated 300,000 Indigenous children and their families for not being properly funded under child welfare services on reserves. Funding under this agreement is estimated at $23 billion. In addition, child and family services provided by the department are open-ended as the cost and extent of services are dependent on need. Based on the information provided in the Supplementary Estimates (A) document, it appears additional funding is being requested for this program.

Of the $20 billion being requested in this bill, $8 billion is being requested by the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs. Of that, $4 billion is to be used to implement “the expedited resolution strategy for agricultural benefit claims” relating to Treaties 4, 5, 6, and 10.

Another $2.5 billion of the $8 billion being requested is for the settlement of specific claims. Specific claims settlements and tribunal awards, valued at up to $150 million, are paid from the Specific Claims Settlement Fund. The $2.5 billion requested in this bill will be used to replenish the fund based on anticipated payments for negotiated settlements and tribunal awards.

The department is also requesting $825 million for out-of-court settlements to ensure that the department is in a position to quickly implement negotiated settlements should agreements be reached.

In reviewing funding requests from the department, there are numerous requests for funding for claims, agreements and treaties, which departmental officials say are maintained in a database for tracking. In terms of claims alone — and I’ve said this before — officials estimate there are 500 of these, which makes it very difficult for us to provide oversight.

Our Finance Committee will continue its review of funding for claims agreements and treaties in the fall.

Of the $20 billion being requested in this bill, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is requesting $996 million for the Housing Accelerator Fund. The Housing Accelerator Fund was established by Budget 2022, which indicated that more housing needs to be built and changes are therefore required to the systems that are preventing the building of more housing. The government’s objective is to incentivize the cities and towns that are stepping up to get more housing built while also ensuring that municipalities can get the support they need to modernize and build new homes.

Budget 2022 provided $4 billion over five years for the Housing Accelerator Fund, and it was supposed to start last year. The fund is supposed to create 100,000 net new housing units over the next five years. The focus will be on increasing supply, including a needed increase to the supply of affordable housing.

Last year’s budget allocated $150 million to the fund and $925 million this year. There is no explanation as to why the fund was not launched last year, as indicated in last year’s budget. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s website, the fund will be launched this summer.

As I have indicated many times, statutory expenditures are expenditures that are not included in an appropriation act. Rather, such expenditures are approved by other acts or statutes, hence the term “statutory expenditures.”

Supplementary Estimates (A) provide updated forecasts of the statutory expenditures of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, the largest increase being $790 million for the AgriInsurance Program. Senator LaBoucane-Benson also mentioned that, so I won’t repeat what she said.

The forecasted statutory expenditures of the Old Age Security program have been decreased by $568 million, from $58 billion to $57.5 billion, based upon updated forecasts of the average monthly rate, the number of beneficiaries and benefit repayment amounts.

Finally, the Department of Finance has increased the statutory expenditures of the estimated interest on unmatured debt by $737 million, which will bring it to $33.6 billion. However, I expect further increases will be included in Supplementary Estimates (B) and (C), since Budget 2023 forecast $4.3 billion for public debt charges this year. However, the Bank of Canada recently increased its benchmark interest rate to 4.75% and may increase rates again this year.

The government expects to borrow an additional $63 billion this year, and, as I have just indicated, it estimated debt-servicing costs to be $43.9 billion this year. However, with the increase by the Bank of Canada of its benchmark interest rate, that $43.9 billion is now expected to increase. But the government has not disclosed a new estimate of public debt charges.

In the area of personnel, Bill C-55 includes $708 million for personnel spending, which will increase the total amount to date for personnel spending this year to $54 billion. It is estimated that personnel spending in 2022-23 will be about $68 billion. When the public accounts for last year are released in the fall, we will have a more accurate number. To put it into perspective, personnel spending in 2016-17 was $40 billion, so the increase in personnel spending from $40 billion over a period of six years to $68 billion last year is 70%.

Over the same six-year period, the federal public service increased from 335,000 full-time equivalents to 413,000 full-time equivalents. In 2022-23, the number of full-time equivalents is expected to be at 428,000.

Honourable senators, this bill, Bill C-55, and its supporting document, the Supplementary Estimates (A), provide a snapshot of planned government spending at this point in time and for this fiscal year. But we really need to think about the bills we’re debating here today. We’re debating the Main Estimates, Bill C-54, Supplementary Estimates (A), Bill C-55 and the budget bill. So in one day, we’re debating three spending bills.

First, the government likes to spend, so that’s one explanation. However, I have spoken about this many times, but I didn’t include it today: There is something wrong with the processes in the government for putting forward their requests for spending. We see today that we have a request for the Main Estimates, we have a request for Supplementary Estimates (A) and a request for the budget bill. It demonstrates that there must surely be a better way to put all this financial information together rather than doing it in bits and pieces, as it is being done.

Additionally, new financial documents are expected in the fall, when we return. Specifically, we’ll be getting Supplementary Estimates (B), then we’ll get more spending in the fall fiscal update, and then we’ll get the public accounts for last year. We’ll be waiting a while for that. Then, interspersed among all of those, I am sure there will be other bills to approve more spending.

So we will continue our review of government spending, but I would really encourage the government to take a look at revising the estimates and their spending processes.

In closing, I would like to thank my committee colleagues again for their work and support: our committee chair, Senator Mockler; our deputy chair, Senator Forest; our committee clerk and analysts and the many staff who ensure our meetings run smoothly and are productive.

I thank my Senate colleagues for listening to this presentation. Thank you.