1992, c. 19

[Assented to June 18, 1992]

An Act respecting the control of government expenditures

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

1. This Act may be cited as the Spending Control Act.

2. In this Act,

“controlled fiscal year” means a fiscal year referred to in the definition “spending limit”;

“Crown corporation” has the meaning assigned by subsection 83(1) of the Financial Administration Act;

“emergency” means an urgent and critical situation that

(a) is caused by drought, earthquake, fire, flood, storm, act of intimidation or coercion, threat to the security of Canada, real or imminent use of force or violence, war, armed conflict, accident or other occurrence,

(b) is so severe, or of such severity in its effect on life, property, the economy of Canada or a region thereof or the environment, as to constitute a matter of serious national concern, and

(c) is declared by order of the Governor in Council to be an emergency for the purposes of this Act;

“expenditure” in a fiscal year means a charge in respect of a net budgetary expenditure as shown in the statement of revenues and expenditures of the government for the year;

“government” means the Government of Canada;

“Minister” means the Minister of Finance;

“program spending” of the government for a fiscal year means all expenditures in the year, other than

(a) costs associated with the servicing or repayment of debts incurred by the government under Acts of Parliament authorizing the borrowing of money by the government and of other public debt charges on specified-purpose accounts and other accounts,

(b) expenditures made in the operation of programs carried on under the Employment Insurance Act but not including any amounts that are required to be paid or contributed by the government as employer’s premiums under that Act,

(c) expenditures made under subsection 13(3) of the Farm Income Protection Act,

(d) expenditures made under subsection 17(1) of the Farm Income Protection Act,

(e) expenditures made as a direct result of an emergency,

(f) expenditures for specific programs that result from the revision of data provided for a period ending, or in respect of a date, before April 1991,

(g) expenditures made in satisfaction or settlement of judgments of courts against the government in respect of claims arising before April 1991 and that are identified as such in the Public Accounts, and

(h) payments made under sections 10 and 11 of the Seized Property Management Act;

“spending limit” for a fiscal year means

(a) in the case of the 1991-92 fiscal year, $97,200,000,000, plus all increased expenditures for specific programs that have been certified under subsection 4(1) for the year,

(b) in the case of the 1992-93 fiscal year, $100,900,000,000, plus all amounts by which the spending limit for the year is increased under subsection 3(2), paragraph 3(3)(b) or subsection 6(4) and all increased expenditures for specific programs that have been certified under subsection 4(1) for the year, minus all amounts by which the spending limit for the year is reduced under paragraph 3(6)(b) or subsection 6(3),

(c) in the case of the 1993-94 fiscal year, $104,100,000,000, plus all amounts by which the spending limit for the year is increased under subsection 3(2), paragraph 3(3)(b) or (6)(a) or subsection 6(4) and all increased expenditures for specific programs that have been certified under subsection 4(1) for the year, minus all amounts by which the spending limit for the year is reduced under paragraph 3(3)(a) or (6)(b) or subsection 6(3),

(d) in the case of the 1994-95 fiscal year, $107,400,000,000, plus all amounts by which the spending limit for the year is increased under subsection 3(2), paragraph 3(3)(b) or (6)(a) or subsection 6(4) and all increased expenditures for specific programs that have been certified under subsection 4(1) for the year, minus all amounts by which the spending limit for the year is reduced under paragraph 3(3)(a) or (6)(b) or subsection 6(3), and

(e) in the case of the 1995-96 fiscal year, $111,250,000,000, plus all amounts by which the spending limit for the year is increased under subsection 3(2) or (4), paragraph 3(6)(a) or subsection 6(4) and all increased expenditures for specific programs that have been certified under subsection 4(1) for the year, minus all amounts by which the spending limit for the year is reduced under paragraph 3(3)(a) or (6)(b) or subsection 6(3).

1992, c. 19, s. 2; 1993, c. 37, s. 30; 1996, c. 23, s. 187.

3. (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (5), the Minister shall not present a budget for a controlled fiscal year that proposes program spending for any controlled fiscal year in excess of the spending limit for the year.

(2) Where, in the budget for a particular controlled fiscal year, the Minister announces that, on the basis of information relating to expenditures for the controlled fiscal year immediately preceding the particular year received up to the time of the presentation of the budget, it appears that the spending limit for the preceding year, determined without reference to this subsection, will exceed the program spending for the preceding year, the Minister may, in the budget, allocate all or part of that excess to the particular year and, in that event, the spending limit for the particular year shall be increased by the amount so allocated.

(3) The Minister may, in a budget for a particular controlled fiscal year, propose program spending for the particular year that exceeds the spending limit for the particular year if, in the budget, the Minister allocates the excess to the two next following controlled fiscal years in such proportions as the Minister shall determine and announce in the budget and, in that event,

(a) the spending limit for each of the two following years shall be reduced by the portion of the excess so allocated to it; and

(b) the spending limit for the particular year shall be increased by the total of all amounts so allocated to a following year.

(4) The Minister may, in the budget for the 1995-96 fiscal year, propose program spending for the year that exceeds the spending limit for the year if, in the budget, the Minister indicates restraint measures that the government intends to take over the 1996-97 or 1997-98 fiscal years, or both, to compensate for the excess and, in that event, the spending limit for the 1995-96 fiscal year shall be increased by the amount of the excess.

(5) The Minister may present a budget for a controlled fiscal year that proposes program spending for any particular controlled fiscal year that exceeds the spending limit for the particular year if, at the same time, the Minister announces proposed amendments to this Act to increase that spending limit and, in that event, the proposed program spending for the particular year may exceed the spending limit for the particular year if it does not exceed the spending limit for the particular year as it would be if the proposed amendments were in effect.

(6) Where the Minister presents a budget for a particular controlled fiscal year that proposes program spending for the particular year that is less than the spending limit for the particular year, determined without reference to this subsection, the Minister may allocate all or part of the difference to such of the following controlled fiscal years as the Minister shall determine and announce in that budget or any budget for a following controlled fiscal year and, in that event,

(a) the spending limit for each of the following years shall be increased by the amount so allocated to it; and

(b) the spending limit for the particular year shall be reduced by the total of all amounts so allocated to a following year.

4. (1) The President of the Treasury Board may certify that a proposed increase in the expenditures for a specific program for a controlled fiscal year is justified by reason of good management if the President is satisfied that it may reasonably be expected

(a) that the proposed increase will result in an increase in the revenues of the government for the year that is equal to or greater than the proposed increase in the expenditures for the year, and that the increase in revenues for the year would not occur if the proposed increase in the expenditures for the year is not made; or

(b) that, if increases in expenditures for the program that are similar in character to the proposed increase are authorized over a series of consecutive fiscal years that includes the controlled fiscal year and that is specified in the certificate, those increases in expenditures will result in a total of increases in the revenues of the government for those consecutive years that is equal to or greater than the total of those increases in expenditures, and that those increases in revenues for those consecutive years would not occur if those increases in expenditures for those consecutive years are not made.

(2) Where a certificate is issued under subsection (1) in respect of a proposed increase in the expenditures for a specific program for a controlled fiscal year, a copy of the certificate shall be set out in or attached to the main estimates or supplementary estimates for the year in which there is an appropriation for the program that includes the increase.

5. For the purposes of this Act, the spending excess for a controlled fiscal year is the greater of nil and the amount determined by the formula

A - B - C

where

A is the program spending for the year;

B is the total of

(a) all amounts each of which is the amount, if any, by which

(i) the value, net of any related allowance, of shares in the capital stock of a Crown corporation, or of a corporation that was previously a Crown corporation or that is a successor to a Crown corporation, that were sold in the year, as shown in the statement of assets and liabilities of Canada as at March 31 immediately before the time of the sale

exceeds

(ii) the net proceeds of disposal of the shares, and

(b) all amounts each of which is the amount, if any, by which

(i) the value, net of any related allowance, of shares of, or the interest of the government in, a particular Crown corporation, or a particular corporation that was previously a Crown corporation or a successor to a Crown corporation, that has been wound up, as shown in the statement of assets and liabilities of Canada as at March 31 immediately before the commencement of the winding-up

exceeds

(ii) the total value of all financial assets received in the controlled fiscal year by the government on the winding-up of the particular Crown corporation or the particular corporation; and

C is the spending limit for the year.

6. (1) The Public Accounts for each controlled fiscal year shall contain a statement by the Minister respecting compliance with this Act in that year.

(2) The statement in the Public Accounts for a controlled fiscal year shall identify

(a) all amounts that are included in the total used for B in the formula set out in section 5 for the year;

(b) all amounts certified under subsection 4(1) for the year; and

(c) all expenditures of the types described in paragraphs (a) to (h) of the definition “program spending” in section 2.

(3) Where the statement in the Public Accounts for a controlled fiscal year indicates that there is a spending excess for the year, the Minister shall, not later than the time of presentation of the next budget, allocate the excess to the two next following controlled fiscal years in such proportions as the Minister shall determine, and the spending limit of each of the two following years shall be reduced by the portion of the excess so allocated to it.

(4) Where the statement in the Public Accounts for a controlled fiscal year indicates that the spending limit for the year exceeds the program spending for the year, the Minister may, in any budget for a controlled fiscal year presented after the publication of the Accounts, allocate all or part of the excess, to the extent that it has not been allocated earlier under subsection 3(2) or this subsection, to such of the following controlled fiscal years as the Minister may determine and announce in that budget and, in that event, the spending limit for each of the following years shall be increased by the amount so allocated to it.

1992, c. 19, s. 6; 1994, c. 26, s. 66.

7. In each budget for a particular controlled fiscal year presented after the coming into force of this Act, the Minister shall indicate the spending limit for each controlled fiscal year as adjusted in accordance with this Act to the date of the budget, including any adjustment required because of the program spending proposed for the particular year in the budget, with an explanation of each adjustment that has been made to a spending limit for a controlled fiscal year.

8. In auditing the accounts of Canada, the Auditor General of Canada shall examine the statement referred to in subsection 6(1) and shall give an opinion, with any reservations that the Auditor General may have, as to whether the statement fairly presents information in accordance with this Act and the stated accounting policies of the government on a basis consistent with that of the preceding year.

9. For the purposes of this Act, any difference between

(a) the program spending or proposed program spending for a controlled fiscal year, and

(b) the spending limit for the year

that is less than 0.1 per cent of the spending limit for the year shall be deemed to be nil.

10. At the time of the presentation of the budget for the 1994-95 fiscal year, the Minister shall present to Parliament a recommendation as to whether this Act should be amended to extend its application beyond the 1995-96 fiscal year.

11. In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions of this Act and the provisions of any other law, the provisions of this Act prevail unless that other law expressly states that it has effect notwithstanding this Act.