Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver will be on his feet Tuesday night as MPs pose questions on his department's estimates and priorities for the coming year. **WATCH LIVE ON CPAC**
Ministers or their parliamentary secretaries appear for up to four hours during such sessions. Each year the Official Opposition chooses two departments for such a review in Committee of the Whole. They must be held by May 31, according to House of Commons Procedure and Practice.
Aboriginal Affairs Bernard Valcourt answered questions on May 9.
►Estimates for Natural Resources Canada
2011-12 Expenditures $3.352 billion
2012-13 Main Estimates $2.812 billion
2012-13 Estimates to Date $2.489 billion
2013-14 Main Estimates $2.767 billion*
*$1.452 billion requires approval by Parliament.
The numbers add up to a $44.8-million spending reduction this year -- 1.59 per cent of the departmental budget. Natural Resources points to the sunsetting of program funding for economic stimulus, ecoENERGY retrofit, and pulp and paper industry "greening" as a major reason for the trend of reduced spending since 2012.
Operating ($69M) and capital ($18.7) costs have increased, with decreases to grants ($73.6M) and contributions ($58.9M).
Austerity measures that began with the 2012 budget are expected to save $84.7 million in 2013-14.
Oliver's portfolio includes the National Energy Board, Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd., the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, and offshore petroleum boards.
►Advertising Canada's Resources
$4.5 million in the Main Estimates and $12 million in the Supplementary Estimates for a "Responsible Resource Management" advertising campaign.
Oliver presented main estimates to the Standing Committee on Natural Resources on April 16. WATCH
►Quizzing the Ministers
The ministerial sessions stem from a standing order (81.(4)(a)) adopted by the House in 2001, allowing the Opposition to choose two federal departments or agencies for review by a Committee of the Whole.
According to House of Commons Procedure and Practice, the new custom would permit "a more meaningful examination of government estimates" and confirm "the financial oversight role of the House of Commons."
The corresponding minister or parliamentary secretary sits in the front row of the government benches and prepares to act as a witness. Outsiders are almost never allowed to walk beyond the Bar of the House, but in this case a small number of department officials are permitted to sit near the minister to provide advice.
- The first round of speakers begins with the Official Opposition, than the government, than the Liberals.
- Each MP has 15 minutes to speak and ask questions. There's a five-minute minimum for the latter category.
- MPs need unanimous consent to split their time with a colleague.
- The minister's response is expected to be equal to or less than the question's time -- the NDP's Jean Crowder complained during the first round of questions for Valcourt that he his responses were too long and eating into her allotment.
Environment Minister Peter Kent and Defence Minister Peter MacKay appeared in May 2012.
►Committees of the Whole
Committees of the Whole date back to the 1500s and the creation of the committee system in England's Parliament. Major bills were debated in a less restrictive forum than formal proceedings of the House of Commons overseen by a Speaker. Canadian legislatures adopted the custom with little change until 1968, when the current system of standing committees was established.
Today, the House of Commons switches to this less formal setting on rare occasions. One notable recent example was the 2008 official apology to residential school victims. Sitting in a Committee of the Whole allowed First Nations representatives to sit on the floor of the Commons and deliver remarks after the prime minister and opposition leaders spoke.
The Speaker leaves their customary chair and moves to the Clerk's seat at the main table on the Commons floor. MPs can speak more often than a normal debate.
-Andrew Thomson
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