President of the Treasury Board Reports on Reallocation

[ Backgrounder ]

September 29, 2003

OTTAWA - The Honourable Lucienne Robillard, President of the Treasury Board and Member of Parliament for Westmount-Ville Marie, announced today the government has reallocated $1 billion in spending in 2003-04 to higher priorities, as outlined in Budget 2003.

"These measures will help us build the Canada we want through investments in Canadians' priorities - our families and communities, health care, education, and the environment," said Minister Robillard. "The money will also help fund new priorities that have emerged since the budget such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease, the cod fishery and the reconstruction of Iraq."

All Ministers and their departments and agencies participated in the exercise. The savings will be achieved through a number of initiatives, including reductions in some activities or lower-than-anticipated use of some services, unavoidable delays in the start-up of some others, and other measures to reduce resources that are currently allocated.

Minister Robillard also noted that, in addition to the $1 billion, departments are also reallocating spending internally on a regular basis as part of good management. For the current fiscal year, more than $800 million has been reallocated to date in this manner.

As previously announced, Treasury Board has also launched a broad review of expenditures and management in all departments and agencies over a five-year cycle. These reviews will ensure that government programs continue to be relevant, effective and deliver results to Canadians.

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The charts titled "$1 Billion Reallocation - Summary by Portfolio" and "Internal Reallocation - Summary by Portfolio" are attached for your information.

For more information, contact:

Daniel Grenier
Press Secretary
Office of the President of the Treasury Board of Canada
(613) 957-2666

Mario Baril
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.

TTY (Telecommunications device for the hearing impaired) - (613) 957-9090

Backgrounder

Departments regularly reallocate spending internally to higher priority areas as part of good management and to make sure they address the needs of Canadians. The following is a list of internal reallocations, to date, for the 2003-04 fiscal year.

Note about Portfolios

* A complete list of each portfolio and its agencies can be found in the 2003-2004 Main Estimates (Part II), available on the Web site of the Treasury Board Secretariat at: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/20032004/page.asp?page=002_e_2.htm

Note about Portfolios

* A complete list of each portfolio and its agencies can be found in the 2003-2004 Main Estimates (Part II), available on the Web site of the Treasury Board Secretariat at:http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/20032004/page.asp?page=002_e_2.htm