Supplementary Estimates (A), 2013-14

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Introduction

Structure of these Supplementary Estimates

This Supplementary Estimates document is presented in four sections:

1. Introduction to Supplementary Estimates;
2. Summary Tables;
3. Details by Department, Agency, and Crown Corporation; and
4. Annex.

Purpose and General Information

Each year, the government prepares Estimates in support of its request to Parliament for authority to spend public funds. This request for spending authority is formalized through the introduction of appropriation bills in Parliament. The Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates are tabled in the House of Commons by the President of the Treasury Board and support Parliament's consideration of the appropriation bills. As with other bills, appropriation bills become law after being approved by both the House of Commons and the Senate and receiving Royal Assent.

The purpose of Supplementary Estimates is to present to Parliament information on the Government of Canada's spending requirements which were either not sufficiently developed in time for inclusion in the Main Estimates, or have subsequently been refined to account for developments in particular programs and services. Also included for Parliament's information and eventual approval through an Appropriation Bill are such items as: transfers of money between Votes; debt deletion; loan guarantees; new or increased grants; and changes to Vote wording.

Supplementary Estimates documents are tabled in Parliament in advance of the related Appropriation Bill that, when approved, provides the necessary authority for the Government of Canada to spend monies from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to deliver its programs and services. This provides the various Standing Committees of Parliament with time to review proposed spending before the introduction of the Appropriation Bill.

Supplementary Estimates also provide updated information on changes to expenditure forecasts of major statutory items for information purposes only. These expenditures already have legislative authority and so will not appear in the Appropriation Bill related to these Supplementary Estimates but are available online.

It is the practice to table a Supplementary Estimate for each of the three Parliamentary Supply periods ending June 23, December 10, and March 26. These Supplementary Estimates (A) are the first of three Supplementary Estimates planned for this fiscal year.

Summary of Estimates

Estimates to date 2013-14

The 2013-14 Main Estimates were tabled on February 25, 2013, supporting the government's request to Parliament for authority through annual appropriations to spend $87.1 billion in voted budgetary expenditures and $71.1 million in voted non-budgetary expenditures and presenting information on the statutory amounts of $165.5 billion in budgetary expenditures and $41.0 billion in net non-budgetary recoveries. Royal Assent for Appropriation Act No. 1, 2013-14 was granted on March 27, 2013 and provided interim supply to departments, organizations and appropriation-dependent Crown Corporations until the end of June 2013. The President of the Treasury Board will introduce a bill requesting the remainder of the funding included in Main Estimates in June.

The tabling of the 2013 Budget on March 21, 2013 did not allow sufficient time for the inclusion of most new measures in Supplementary Estimates (A). Items announced in Budget 2013 are identified in these Supplementary Estimates. Future Estimates documents will include other planned expenditures announced in the 2013 Budget.

The Supplementary Estimates (A) provides information in support of requests for Parliament's approval of $1.1 billion in voted appropriations which represent an increase of 1.3% over Main Estimates. Information related to an increase of $8.2 million in forecast budgetary statutory expenditures is available online. There are no changes to Non-Budgetary expenditures (loans, investments and advances) presented in Supplementary Estimates (A).

Changes to the presentation of Supplementary Estimates

Several changes have been made to the presentation of the Main and Supplementary Estimates documents in 2013-14 to increase the amount of information provided and improve the usability of the overall publication.

In both the published books and the on-line tables, departments and agencies are presented alphabetically according to the legal name of the department or agency making it easier to find particular organizations in the printed or electronic versions of the document. Presentation by Portfolio or Ministry has been maintained for the Proposed Schedules to the Appropriation Bill.

The 2013-14 Program Alignment Architecture is used for the tables presenting information by Strategic Outcome and Program. If there has been a change in the Architecture, amounts for previous years have not been reclassified to the new structure and are reported as "Funds not allocated to the 2013-14 Program Alignment Architecture".

The Estimates documents are prepared to support Appropriation Bills. Other changes have been made to focus on the items in the Proposed Schedule to the Appropriations Bill:

• Presentation of spending under statutory authorities is summarized. Details on forecasts of statutory items are available in the online table.
• Amounts under 'Explanation of Requirements' are now presented to the dollar. This section now also includes information on items for which $1 is added to the Appropriation Bill to seek parliamentary authority.

Major Items

The following section provides an overview of major voted initiatives included in these Supplementary Estimates in support of Parliamentary approval.

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited $260.3 million

Funding to meet operational requirements at Chalk River Laboratories (Budget 2013)

The funding will allow Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) to continue isotope production, wind down the Dedicated Isotopes Facility, and complete infrastructure and operational upgrades related to health, safety, security, and environmental priorities or regulatory requirements during the restructuring of the Nuclear Laboratories. The funding will also cover costs associated with the payout of voluntary termination compensation, as AECL is complying with cross-government efforts to eliminate these benefits for management and employees. The $260.3 million represents AECL's cash-based planned expenditures for 2013-14.

Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness $230.0 million

Increased funding for the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements contribution program

In the event of a large-scale natural disaster, the Government of Canada provides financial assistance to provincial and territorial governments through the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA). When response and recovery costs exceed what individual provinces or territories could reasonably be expected to manage on their own, the DFAA provide the Government of Canada with a fair and equitable means of assisting provincial and territorial governments. Each request for cost sharing under the DFAA is processed once the affected province or territory provides the required documentation of expenditures.

Agriculture and Agri-Food $207.0 million

Funding for Cost-Shared Strategic Initiatives programming in Innovation, Competitiveness and Market Development, and Adaptability and Industry Capacity under Growing Forward 2

This funding will be used to support cost-shared programming that is delivered by provincial and territorial partners. The programming is focused on innovation, market development and industry capacity. The goal of this programming is to encourage a more competitive and responsive agricultural sector. Negotiations between the federal and provincial and territorial governments to finalize cost-shared programs concluded in 2012.

Indian Affairs and Northern Development $167.0 million

Funding for specific claims settlements

Specific claims settlements seek to rectify historic wrongs arising from alleged non-fulfillment of a legal obligation (e.g. a treaty) or the improper administration of lands and other assets under the Indian Act. This funding supports specific claims settlements anticipated for this fiscal year.

VIA Rail Canada Inc. $99.0 million

Funding for incremental pension requirements

This funding will allow VIA Rail Canada Inc. to make pension contributions to address the solvency of its pension plans.

Agriculture and Agri-Food $46.8 million

Funding in support of Business Risk Management programming under Growing Forward 2

This funding will be used to provide financial support to farmers against market volatility and agricultural disasters. Business Risk Management includes five components designed to protect against declines in income caused by market forces or natural hazards, as well as provide funding to help businesses recover after such events: AgriInvest; AgriStability; AgriInsurance; AgriRecovery; and, AgriRisk.

New Vote and Statutory Authorities Presented in these Supplementary Estimates

Changes to the structure of Government reflected in these Supplementary Estimates include:

Health - Order in Council P.C. 2013-0340 transfers to Health the powers and functions of Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission as pursuant to section 298 of the Jobs and Growth Act, 2012, chapter 31 of the Statutes of Canada, 2012, fixes April 1, 2013 as the day on which Division 13, other than section 285, of Part 4 of that Act comes into force.

Changes to voted and statutory authorities being sought in these Supplementary Estimates includes:

Changes to authorities implementation through these Supplementary Estimates include Votes and Statutory items that contain specific authorities that differ from those included in the 2013-14 Main Estimates, as well as new expenditure authorities appearing for the first time.

New vote authorities are being sought by:

There are no new vote authorities being sought.

The following vote wording (underscore) has been amended since Main Estimates:

Health - Department

Vote 10a - The grants listed in the Estimates and contributions, in the form of monetary payments or the provision of goods or services

New statutory authorities included in these Supplementary Estimates are:

There are no new statutory authorities included.

Estimates by Organization

135 organizations are represented in the 2013-14 Estimates. Of these, 16 organizations have identified additional requirements as part of these Supplementary Estimates.

Horizontal Items

A horizontal initiative is an initiative in which partners from two or more organizations have established a formal funding agreement (e.g. Memorandum to Cabinet, Treasury Board submission, federal-provincial agreement) to work toward the achievement of shared outcomes.

This table provides a summary of those items for which funding is sought in Supplementary Estimates. It also provides an overview of initiatives related to Supplementary Estimates in then current fiscal year where two or more organizations are seeking incremental funding increases.

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