Question Period Note: Public Accounts - Lapses 2018-2019

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About

Reference number:
CIR-2019-20026
Date received:
Dec 13, 2019
Organization:
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
Name of Minister:
Bennett, Carolyn (Hon.)
Title of Minister:
Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations

Suggested Response:

CIRNAC is committed to ensuring that funds allocated for Indigenous peoples and Northerners flow in the fiscal year in which they are budgeted.

The Departmental Public Accounts lapse for 2018-19 is $695.8 million. Of this amount, $663 million is mainly due to the timing and progress of negotiations, and is eligible to be used in future years for its intended purposes.

CIRNAC’s total net lapse is approximately $32.8 million, representing less than 0.7% of its overall budget of $5.1 billion.

Background:

The Public Accounts are part of a series of reports to Parliament and the Canadian public providing information on the state of the Government’s finances.

The Public Accounts of Canada are prepared jointly by:
• the Receiver General for Canada (the Minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada), who is responsible for collecting the information from the departments (including CIRNAC) and publishing the information;
• the President of the Treasury Board who, through the Office of the Comptroller General, provides direction on government financial and accounting policies and departmental reporting and disclosure requirements; and,
• the Department of Finance Canada, which provides an analysis of the financial statements.

The Departmental Public Accounts lapse for 2018-19 of $695.8 million includes $626.9 million of funding that CIRNAC will reprofile, beyond the carry forward, to spend in future years in order to meet its funding obligations.

Specifically:
­ $413.9 million for the Specific Claims Settlement Fund;
­ $91.3 million for the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (workforce adjustment, delivery funding and settlement allotment);
­ $47.0 million for out-of-court settlements;
­ $41.7 million for Federal Contaminated Sites;
­ $17.9 million for the Sixties Scoop settlement and;
­ $15.1 million for other targeted initiatives (Nutrition North Canada, Canadian High Arctic Research Station, Treaty Land Entitlements for Manitoba and Saskatchewan and Sex-based inequities).

Additional Information:

None