Question Period Note: 2022-23 Public Accounts

The Public Accounts of Canada for the year ending March 31, 2023, were tabled in Parliament by the President of the Treasury Board on October 24, 2023.

• Within Canadian Heritage’s Public Accounts, financial information specific to the Sport portfolio is presented.

• The Department disbursed $336.6 million under the Sport core responsibility, an increase of $50.7 million when compared to the previous year. This increase is largely explained by Sport Support Program ($36.5M) and Hosting Program ($14.2M) which continue to support the reopening of events and in-person experiences, and organized sport at the community level to help Canadians and communities recover from the impacts of COVID-19.

Authorities Used and Lapses (Volume II – Details of Expenses and Revenues)
(in millions of $) Authorities available for use Authorities Used Variance
Authorities Used in Previous Year
Operating 15.4 14.3 1.1 13.4
Transfer Payments 327.0 322.3 4.7 272.5
Total 342.4 336.6 9.4 285.9
Transfer payments by recipient will be disclosed in the public accounts but here is a table that presents the total transfer payments for the sport component (Volume III – Transfer Payment Details):
(in millions of $) Authorities Used Authorities Used in Previous Year Variance
Grants to the Athlete Assistance Program 31.7 31.9 (0.2)
Contributions for the Sport Support Program 249.2 212.8 36.3
Contributions for the Hosting Program 41.4 27.7 13.7
Total 322.3 272.5 49.8

• Expenditures: The overall increase of $50.7M in spending from $285.9 million in 2021-22 to $336.6 million 2022-23 can be largely explained by Sport Support Program ($36.5M) and Hosting Program ($14.2M) which continue to support the reopening of events and in-person experiences, and organized sport at the community level to help Canadians and communities recover from the impacts of COVID-19.
• Grants and contributions: The lapse under the Sport portfolio is $4.7 million and is mostly explained by the following:
• $2.0 million - Paralympic medals; and
• $2.6 million - Canadian Mental Health Strategy for High Performance Sport.
• Although the department explored mechanisms to make these funds available in future years, the Department will only have access to the funding for Paralympic medals in future years.
Minister’s Office Expenses (Volume III: Additional Information and Analyses)
• The previous Minister of Sport reported expenses totaling $1,062,682 compared to $391,542 in 2021-22. The $671,140 increase is mainly explained by the Minister office being created on October 26, 2021; therefore 2021-22 spending is only for a partial year. The 2022-23 spending is primarily for salary expenditures in addition to $95,021 for transport and communication which consists mainly of travel expenses.
• Expenses for your office as Minister of Sport will be reported in the 2023-24 Public Accounts.

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