Thank you, Mr. Chair. Certainly, when we see a project not progressing as planned, that would lead to a carryover, we track the reasons. If it is an issue around program design, in the client department, we would track that. If it is a reason around a contractor issue, whether it is a delayed winter road or a weather-related delay, we do track those types of issues.
Some of the carryovers are driven by the budgeting cycle in itself because of when the project gets approved, and by the time that procurement proceeds and we get through the award stage, there can be a bit of a lag that builds a carryover that usually disappears towards the end of the project, so where the project is in its actual cycle contributes to carryovers.
Some of the things I have spoken about in the past is just even project progression. Some projects, the larger ones, you can have monthly billings in the $2- to $3-million range when they are under full construction. It can be as simple as the contractor getting his progress payment claim in one month versus the next one. When we get to year end, whether that money is accounted for and the carryovers are not, after we passed the cut-off for payment, that money goes into the new year and it gets carried over. So there are lots of details, I guess, associated with it that can cause a carryover.
The ones we really focus on are the ones that are around projects that aren't proceeding on schedule and not proceeding, because our goal is to get public infrastructure on the ground and service for program delivery and for the public's use as quickly as possible once it is approved. Thank you, Mr. Chair.