President of the Treasury Board tables 2006-2007 Main Estimates

Backgrounders

• The Estimates Process
• Overview of the 2006-2007 Main Estimates

April 25, 2006

OTTAWA - Treasury Board President John Baird today tabled the 2006-2007 Main Estimates in the House of Commons.

The Main Estimates support the government's request for parliamentary authority to spend money to ensure the continued operation of government.

The 2006-2007 Main Estimates reflect decisions taken by the previous government rather then the current government. The Main Estimates must be tabled now to secure interim supply.

This government's decisions will be announced in Budget 2006 and will be reflected in the Supplementary Estimates to be tabled in the Fall.

The 2006-2007 Main Estimates seek a total of $199.7 billion in government expenditures, including $198.6 billion in budgetary spending and $1.1 billion in non-budgetary expenditures for loans and investments.

The Main Estimates also provide information to Parliament about adjustments to projected statutory spending that have been previously authorized by Parliament.

Please refer to the backgrounders for further details on Estimates process. These documents are posted on the Treasury Board Web site at: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca.

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For more information, contact:

Mike Van Soelen
Director of Communications
Office of the President of the Treasury Board
(613) 957-2666

Robert Makichuk
Media Relations
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
(613) 957-2391

If there is a discrepancy between any printed version and the electronic version of this news release, the electronic version will prevail.

Backgrounder: The Estimates Process

Each year, the government prepares Estimates in support of its request to Parliament for authority to spend public funds. This request is formalized through the tabling of appropriation bills in Parliament. The Estimates, which are tabled in the House of Commons by the President of the Treasury Board, consist of three parts:

• Part I - The Government Expenditure Plan provides an overview of federal spending and summarises the relationship of the key elements of the Main Estimates to the current Expenditure Plan.
• Part II - The Main Estimates directly support the Appropriation Act. The Main Estimates identify the spending authorities (Votes) and amounts to be included in subsequent appropriation bills. Parliament will be asked to approve these Votes to enable the government to proceed with its spending plans.
• Part III - Departmental Expenditure Plans, which are divided into two components:
  1. Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPPs) are individual expenditure plans for each department and agency (excluding Crown Corporations). These reports provide increased levels of detail on business lines and contain information on objectives, initiatives and planned results, including links to related resource requirements over a three-year period. These documents will be tabled in the Fall.
  2. Departmental Performance Reports (DPRs) are individual department and agency accounts of results achieved against planned performance expectations, as set out in respective RPPs. The Departmental Performance Reports cover the most recently completed fiscal year and are scheduled to be tabled at the end of Fall.

The Estimates, along with the Budget, reflect the government's annual budget planning and resource allocation priorities. In combination with the subsequent reporting of financial results in the Public Accounts and of results achieved in Departmental Performance Reports, this material helps Parliament hold the government to account for the allocation and management of public funds.

Backgrounder: Overview of the 2006-2007 Main Estimates

Part I – The Government Expense Plan

Overview

The Main Estimates present information on both budgetary and non-budgetary spending authorities. 

The 2006-2007 Main Estimates reflect decisions taken by the previous government rather then the current government. The Main Estimates must be tabled now to secure interim supply.

The decisions of the current government will be announced in Budget 2006 and will be reflected in the Supplementary Estimates to be tabled in the Fall.

Budgetary Main Estimates:

This year’s budgetary expenditures of $198.6 billion include the cost of servicing the public debt; operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.  These budgetary Main Estimates support the government’s request for Parliament’s authority to spend $70.2 billion under program authorities that require Parliament’s annual approval for spending limits.  The remaining $128.4 billion represents statutory spending, such as elderly benefits and employment insurance, and its detailed forecasts are provided for information purposes only.  

Non-Budgetary Main Estimates:

Non-budgetary expenditures refer to those expenditures that have an impact on the composition of the government’s financial assets, such as loans, investments and advances.

This year’s non-budgetary expenditures of $1,122.9 million include both voted non-budgetary spending authorities amounting to $123.4 million and $999.5 million representing statutory non-budgetary expenditure that are already approved by Parliament through separate legislation.

The 2006-2007 Main Estimates non-budgetary spending represents a forecasted decrease of  $567.2 million over the 2005-2006 Main Estimates. 

Table 1: Total Main Estimates

In total, the 2006-2007 Main Estimates have increased by $12.2 billion or 6.5% relative to the 2005-2006 Main Estimates, reflecting an increase of $12.7 billion in budgetary spending and a decrease of $567.2 million in non-budgetary spending.

Budgetary Main Estimates – A net $12.7 billion increase

These Main Estimates represent the expenditure plan for fiscal year 2006-2007, and are consistent with the spending plans outlined in the February 2005 Budget. While the 2006-2007 Main Estimates represent the major part of the government’s spending plans, any subsequent announcements or decisions, such as the 2006 Budget, will be dealt with in Supplementary Estimates later in the fiscal year. 

The following table compares the budgetary Main Estimates for 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 and presents the total planned budgetary expense of $205.1 billion for 2006-2007.  Of that amount, $34.4 billion is for public debt charges and $170.7 billion is for program spending.  These Main Estimates are consistent with the expense plan laid out in the 2005 Budget that forecasted a 5.3% year-over-year growth in actual budgetary spending.

Table 2: Budgetary Main Estimates by Type of Payment

Program Spending by Sector

The following table sets out program spending by sector and, within each sector, by federal department and agency.  While some sectors show a decline in spending in 2006-2007, others are showing increases that, in part, reflect measures announced in the 2005 Budget.  In addition to the explanatory details provided on each of the sectors, a major driver of changed spending that applies to all departments and agencies is collective bargaining, and some $1.2 billion in wage and salary increases through collective bargaining are reflected in these Estimates

The table below summarizes program spending by sector. 

Table 3: Program Spending by Sector

The largest portion of program spending is devoted to social programs, which accounts for  $90.4 billion or 45.5% of the total program spending for 2006-2007.  Of the remainder, spending on public debt charges, international, immigration and defence programs, and general government services accounts for an additional $79.9 billion or 40.3% of total spending.  

[1]  This includes adjustments for the impact of accrual accounting, expenses charged to previous years and an anticipated lapse.  It also includes expenses not yet allocated for initiatives that require further development or legislation.

Note :  Numbers may not add due to rounding.