In response to certain questions raised during the hearings, TBS provided the following responses in a written submission to the Committee.

Responses to Questions From the Hearing of 18 November 2022

Previous Tabling Dates

In response to a question about previous tabling dates of the Public Accounts of Canada, TBS provided the following:

Table 1—Previous tabling dates of the Public Accounts of Canada

Doubtful Accounts

In response to a question about an increase in doubtful accounts from the previous fiscal year, TBS provided the following:

This question relates to the $21.5 billion allowance for doubtful accounts on tax receivable as per note 13 (a) of the Consolidated financial statements of the Government of Canada (Public Accounts of Canada, Volume I, Section 2, page 88).

The increase in the allowance for doubtful accounts is consistent with the increase in the total tax receivable balance. The proportion of the allowance for doubtful accounts to total tax receivable was 11.4% in 2022 compared to 11.8% in 2021.

As discussed in the Public Accounts of Canada, Volume I, Section 1, Financial Statement Discussion and Analysis, page 15, overall tax revenues were up in 2022 compared to 2021.

Public Sector Pension

In response to a question about the public sector pension increase, TBS provided the following:

The significant variance between the two fiscal years is related to special employer contributions. These increases are due to one-time adjustments made to address the actuarial shortfall reported in the latest triennial valuation of the Plans which are tabled in Parliament.

These one-time adjustments represent an actuarial adjustment to the statutory accounts of the Plans to track the pension obligation (the amount that would be required in order to meet the cost of the benefits payable).

The special employer contributions for the Public Service Superannuation Account totaled $7.805 billion in 2021–22 and the combined total for Canadian Forces Superannuation Account, Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Account, Members of Parliament Retirement Compensation Arrangements Account totaled $2.751 billion in 2020–21.

The key factor in the actuarial shortfall related to the decrease in the yields used to measure the actuarial obligation.

Revenue Sources for Crown Corporations

In response to a question about the principal sources of revenue for Crown Corporations, TBS provided the following:

Enterprise Crown corporation revenues are disclosed in the Public Accounts of Canada Volume I, Section 9, page 292, table 9.4. There are various corporations with differing revenues streams ranging from:

• Ports and Pilotage Authorities with revenues related to their respective activities,
• Financial Institutions like Export Development Canada, Business Development Bank of Canada, Farm Credit Canada with interest and investment related revenues amongst other service line offerings,
• Insurance entities like Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation who sell insurance products and also have investing revenue streams,
• The Bank of Canada which earns interest revenue, and
• Canada Post who earns revenue from the delivery of mail and parcels.

In addition, as seen on table 3.4 (Volume I, Section 3, page 106), the total enterprise Crown corporation net income includes interest earned on loans provided to the corporations.

Responses to Questions From the Hearing of 22 November 2022

Debt Forgiveness by Export Development Canada

In response to a question regarding the error in the Public Accounts surrounding debt forgiveness by Export Development Canada, TBS provided the following:

The amount $822,161,848 disclosed in the Public Accounts of Canada Volume III, Section 2, page 140 on the forgiveness of debt of Export Development Canada [Canada Account] reflects the loans forgiven of the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA).

The CEBA is part of the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan. This program provided partially forgivable loans of up to $60,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits. Approximately $49 billion was disbursed to over 898,000 recipients. The Government extended the repayment deadline to qualify for partial loan forgiveness from December 31, 2022 to December 31, 2023 for all eligible borrowers in good standing.

Repayment of the non-forgivable portion of a CEBA loan on or before the new deadline of December 31, 2023 results in loan forgiveness of up to 33 percent of the value of the loan (up to $20,000).

As of March 31, 2022, a total loan forgiveness of $822,161,848 was provided to an estimate of 53,258 small businesses, as the non-forgivable portion of these loans was voluntarily repaid before the deadline by CEBA borrowers. Precise forgiveness data will be available after the forgiveness period ends in 31 December 2023.

The names of the businesses that repaid their loans before the deadline and received loan forgiveness as a result cannot be disclosed due to privacy obligations, as the program was established in partnership with financial institutions and individual loans were signed directly between individual businesses and their financial institutions.

Costing of the Suspension of Paying out Excess Accrued Vacation Leave

In response to a question regarding the costing of the suspension of paying out excess accrued vacation leave, TBS provided the following:

As of March 31, 2022, the average outstanding vacation leave beyond the carry-over limit was 2.5 days per employee in the Core Public Administration. The dollar value of these leaves is estimated to be $279 million. These excess leaves are to be gradually cashed out over five years, starting in fiscal year 2022–23, if public servants do not use them.