Shafqat Ali

Mr. Speaker, we believe that transparency and accountability are fundamental to a strong democracy. As the President of the Treasury Board, I am committed to ensuring that Canadians can access government information in a timely and effective manner. We have launched a consultation paper as part of the process to make the access to information system better. My colleague's comments were part of those consultations.

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague made a statement, but there was no question in that statement. As the President of the Treasury Board, I strongly support the government's efforts to improve and modernize the access to information process. Access to information is a fundamental part of ensuring transparency and accountability for Canadians. That is why last March we launched a review of the Access to Information Act. We have provided Library and Archives—

Mr. Speaker, Canada's new government believes in transparency, accountability and fairness. As the President of the Treasury Board, I have been meeting with government agents, including the Information Commissioner. We have launched consultations to modernize the access to information system. I thank all the government agents, including the Information Commissioner, for their work to hold the government to account.

moved: That Vote 5, in the amount of $17,968,133,395, under Department of National Defence — Capital expenditures, in the Main Estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027, be concurred in. Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Halifax. I am thankful for the opportunity to speak about the government's spending priorities for the 2026‑27 fiscal year as set out in the main estimates. The main estimates outline the funding and resources departments require to deliver the programs and services Canadians rely on. Parliament must authorize these expenditures before the government can legally spend public funds. To further strengthen accountability and scrutiny, parliamentary committees have the opportunity to hear from and question ministers and officials to determine whether proposed spending aligns with key government priorities. Canadians can also see how the government intends to use their tax dollars. The amounts listed in the main estimates are reflected in appropriation acts, also known as supply bills. Once passed, these acts give the government the legal authority to spend. With respect to main estimates 2026‑27, I would like to point to budget 2025 as the context for these spending requests. As the budget made clear, the government is committed to strong fiscal management. This means spending less on operations so that we can invest more in building Canada strong. Since the budget was tabled in the fall, rather than in the spring, as in previous years, there has been greater opportunity to align the main estimates with budget decisions. As a result, the 2026‑27 main estimates reflect $14.7 billion in new spending announced in budget 2025, including in key areas like defence, infrastructure and housing. Measures that are still under development will be presented through future supplementary estimates. As I mentioned, making investments in priority areas means that the government is spending less and investing more to build the strongest economy in the G7. As such, the spending outlined in these main estimates also reflects some of the savings resulting from Canada's new government's comprehensive expenditure review. Last year, we made a clear commitment to spend less on government operations so that we can invest more in the workers, businesses and nation-building infrastructure that will grow our economy and strengthen this country. The comprehensive expenditure review launched in July was essential in meeting this commitment to responsible, cost-effective spending that delivers results for Canadians. The review required federal organizations to bring forward savings proposals to spend less on the day-to-day running of the government. It targeted programs and activities that were not core to their federal mandate, were duplicative or were not aligned with the government's priorities. Organizations also considered ways to work more efficiently, leveraging existing and emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence, where they can make the government more effective and efficient. Some of the results of this review were presented in the budget, and savings of $13 billion annually by 2028‑29 were identified across departments. This includes bringing the public service back to a sustainable level, including through a reduction in the size of public service by an estimated 16,000 full-time equivalents. The government understands the scope of the review. That is why the reductions are being managed with fairness and compassion, relying on attrition and voluntary departures to the greatest extent possible. The government remains committed to supporting impacted public servants with compassion and transparency. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our public servants for their dedication and commitment in delivering services to Canadians. We are also leveraging all available tools to limit involuntary departures, including the early retirement incentive. The early retirement incentive provides an opportunity for eligible employees to retire without a penalty for early departure. Around 7,000 employees have already applied to the program. The government's departmental plans tabled in March provide more details on the review and how financial resources will be used to achieve planned results. Before getting into the details of the main estimates, I would like to speak about the financial reporting cycle and why it is so important. I have already mentioned the purpose of the main estimates, but not all funding requirements appear in the main estimates, so the government also introduces supplementary estimates throughout the year. Supplementary estimates may include funding for new initiatives, urgent needs, such as disaster responses, or items that were not ready in time to be included in the main estimates. These documents are tabled at different points throughout the fiscal year: supplementary estimates (A) in the spring, supplementary estimates (B) in the fall and supplementary estimates (C) in the winter, if required. Taken together, the supplementary estimates and the mains are part of the estimates family of documents. This estimates family of documents also includes departmental plans, which set out priorities of federal organizations, and departmental results reports, which show how departments performed and help Canadians assess how effectively their tax dollars were used. Another significant document in this fiscal cycle is the public accounts. While the estimates outline planned spending, the public accounts provide the audited, consolidated financial statements of the Government of Canada for each fiscal year ending March 31. They detail how the funds were actually spent and how the revenue was collected. The government is well aware of how important transparency and accountability are to Canadians. That is why we continue to prioritize the way the estimates are presented. Extensive explanatory documentation is readily accessible online to parliamentarians and Canadians. Online platform tools used for this purpose in GC InfoBase present the main estimates and the supplementary estimates, along with other data related to government finances, people and results.

Mr. Speaker, as we know, we are going through global instability and global challenges. This is the moment we need to seize. Our new government, under the leadership of our Prime Minister, one of the greatest prime ministers, is bringing nations together, moving forward to take bold actions and delivering results. It is great to see all levels of government working together, moving on, sharing priorities and building Canada strong.

Mr. Speaker, the new government is focused on investing in core priorities that matter most to Canadians and taking bold actions. It is because of those actions that we see, as we saw last Friday, a report that almost 90,000 jobs were added to the Canadian labour force, and that unemployment has dropped. There are measures the government is taking to build the strongest economy in the G7 and to focus on delivering results for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, the main estimates and supplementary estimates, along with other data related to government finances, are published in the expenditure database, a digital tool, which people can consult. This is key to giving parliamentarians and Canadians more information on how public funds are being spent. I encourage my hon. colleagues who have not already done so to consult this great tool. Main estimates represents a total of $502.8 billion in budgetary spending for 130 organizations to deliver programs and services that Canadians rely on—

moved that Bill C-32, An Act for granting to His Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027, be read the first time and printed. (Motion deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

moved that Bill C‑33, An Act for granting to His Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027, be read the first time and printed. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)