OGGO Committee Meeting

The Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates met in a televised session at 8:46 a.m. this day, in Room 237-C, Centre Block, the Chair, the Hon. John McKay, presiding.

Kevin Page made a statement and, with the other witnesses, answered questions.

Kevin page made a statement and, with the other witnesses, answered questions.

At 10:38 a.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 10:40 a.m., the sitting resumed.

Diane Bourgeois moved, — That, in relation to the freeze on departmental budget envelopes, the government provides the Committee with: a planned and approved fiscal framework along with departmental annual spending reference levels; the departmental strategies for savings; the service level standards; the loaded costs for program activities for affected departments; a summary report detailing opening departmental reference levels and adjustments made through the 2010 Annual Reference Level Update for 2010-11 through 2014-15; a summary of items that have received Cabinet and/or budget approval or, in the case of reprofiling decisions, approval by the Department of Finance, but which have yet to be briefed into departmental reference levels and included in the estimates; the details of what is included in the line item: “Operating expenses subject to freeze”; the actual total lapsed voted authorities as well as lapsed operating authorities (i.e. operating vote lapses) from the previous two years, as well as the projected lapsed total and operating voted authorities for all departments for the next five years; the current baseline of full costs (which should be broken out by direct cost and indirect cost, and each cost component should be categorized into one of the 12 standard objects of expenditure used in the Public Accounts of Canada) of major programs within each department including the number of full time equivalents supporting the programs; the list of current service standards for each of these major programs (costs, turnaround times, service quality); the cost categories in each of the major programs, by standard object that would be subject to a freeze; and finally, the impact of the expenditure freeze on the program service.

After debate, the question was put on the motion and the result of the vote was announced: YEAS: Diane Bourgeois, Siobhan Coady, Jean-Yves Laforest, Pat Martin, Geoff Regan — 5; NAYS: Paul Calandra, Blaine Calkins, Jacques Gourde, Chris Warkentin, Stephen Woodworth — 5.

Whereupon, the Chair voted in the affirmative.

Accordingly, the motion was agreed to.

It was agreed, — That the Committee reserve about fifteen minutes at the end of its next meeting to discuss its upcoming activities and motions to be moved by Chris Warkentin.

At 10:48 a.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.