Audit Bureau, operation expense, total operation expense, $1,186,000. Agreed?

Information item, active positions.

Detail of work performed on behalf of others, an information item.

Revenues, recoveries and transfer payments, another information item.

Going back to page 2-35. Financial Management Board Secretariat, program summary, operation expense, total operation expense, $25,591,000. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just going with what the Minister stated that, in fact, all we are doing is voting on this one number and he can move anything from within there, I need clarification here because I have a copy of the Financial Administration Act here, section 30(1):

"..no person shall incur an expenditure unless it is pursuant to an appropriation and in accordance with the activity set out in the estimates on which the appropriation is based."

You just told me earlier that, in fact, it is on the item, the department. Clarification, please.

Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, you have read the Financial Administration Act in consideration of all of the articles within it. You have to go to other ones, for example, I will go to section 32(1), which reads:

"... the Board on the recommendation of the Minister responsible for an item may transfer funds among activities set out in the estimates on which the appropriate item is based if the amount appropriated for the item as a whole is not increased."

That gives the Financial Management Board Secretariat the authority to make those kind of interactivity transfers. Then that one was delegated too, through a directive in April, 1997, from the [inaudible] to Ministers the authority to adjust and make transfers among activity and control object budgets within the appropriation and be adjusted, make transfers activity, control object, and project budgets within the appropriation under vote 1 and vote 2, capital.

When you look at the Financial Administration Act, you cannot just read one article of it and not look at what each of the articles say and any of the changes that have been made by directive. Mr. Chairman, it gives the authority for the board to make the adjustment. The board has delegated that to the Minister and the Minister has the authority to make the interactivity transfer. This has not changed since 1997. Thank you.

Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Is there a possibility of getting a copy of the directives?

Mr. Minister.

Yes, Mr. Chairman. They are public documents. They are on the website. If people want paper copies then we can provide that to all the Members. Thank you.

Order. Order. Can we have some order here, please? Order. Excuse me, can we have order in the House, please? We are dealing with the program summary, Financial Management Board Secretariat, program summary, operation expense, total operation expense, $25,591,000. Agreed?.

We move onto capital, page 5 of capital. Financial Management Board Secretariat, capital acquisition plan, government accounting, $180,000.

Agreed. Budgeting evaluation, $425,000.

Total department, $605,000. Agreed?