Mr. Chairman. No, that is not the case. I do not even recall when it was. The limit has been $250,000 for a long time. Thank you.

Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As Minister responsible for the Department of the Financial Management Board Secretariat, any changes to the fiscal budget that we are putting forward, and departments know what amounts are there if you are going to change it or transfer it. My understanding is that notification had to be given to the Financial Management Board Secretariat so that there could be a report made in the House.

At the tail end of the 13th Assembly, I believe that was a decision made for better control because we were looking at the debt wall and knowing that was coming rather quickly. Is that still the plan although it was a decision in the Financial Management Board Secretariat I believe, there was a decision made so that it would require a record of decision. Has that been changed? Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, the departments have to report to the Financial Management Board Secretariat on all the capital adjustments they make and any transfers they make. But that is after the fact and that is reported to the Financial Management Board Secretariat and eventually to the Financial Management Board, but only as information. There is no requirement to come to FMB for approval on those transfers or adjustments. Thank you.

Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I guess, in fact, we have heard comments from previous questions to different Ministers in this House about asking to move money from one location to another and they said they did not have that ability. In fact, you are telling me and this Assembly now, that a Minister, in this case, can deal with this budget, the total amount being $25 million. You can move whatever amount as a Minister wherever you want in that department? You do not need any record beside some report coming to this House, that is outside of capital? Thank you.

Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, that is correct. What you are approving here is $25,591,000 but having said that, if anything is over $250,000 it has to be reported back here. In order for the FMB to manage our expenditures, we require departments to report their transfers. There is a quarterly capital project adjustment report that is given to the Legislative Assembly as information. Ministers have the authority to make inter-activity transfers. There are reporting requirements. Another piece of the reporting requirement, as you will see on each of the pages here, you have last year's expenditures, both in terms of main estimates and the revised mains and this year's. There is an opportunity to find out what happened. It is after the fact but there is that accountability that has to come.

In terms of reporting to the standing committees and MLAs, it is only on the new capital projects over $250,000. In this case, we vote by department and item.

Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Again I wonder why we call agreed in different activity areas. As the Minister says, he has free will and the Ministers now know that they have free will. They can move their money from wherever within their departments now and not have to worry about what Members will say. As long as there is a report put into this house on items over $250,000. Correct?

Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman. No, we always have to be concerned with what the Members say. That is part of how our system works. Any advice, recommendations, and so on, from the Members are important. I do not want to say we are not concerned about it, we are. We listen. We do make commitments on our side that this is our best estimate of how we are going to allocate that money within that department. We have every intention to follow it. It is outlined in our business plans, but in the final analysis does the Minister have the authority to make the inter-activity transfers? Yes, the Minister does. It is not new. It is a system that has been in place since early in the last Assembly. Thank you.

Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I know from my own experience that there was a record of decision made in the FMB requesting any interactivity of transfers of $50,000 had to go to FMB for approval. So are you telling me that this is not the case? Thank you.

Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, we can check on that. I was not there in the last Assembly so I do not know for sure, but we will check and see if there was one. But again even if the FMB did issue that directive in the last government it does not necessarily follow that it has to apply to the next one, unless we want to write it into the Financial Administration Act and directives that go with it. Thank you.

Government accounting, operations expense, total operations expense, $7,301,000.

Page 2-45, government accounting, grants and contributions, contributions, total contributions, $4,580,000.

Total contributions, $4,580,000. Agreed?

Budgeting evaluation, operations expense, total operations expense, $1,772,000.