Minister's office budget

In the weeks following your appointment, Treasury Board, in conjunction with the Prime Minister’s Office, will work to identify the allocations for all Ministerial budgets. Once identified, you will receive a letter from the Treasury Board outlining your budget which will be divided into six parts:

1. Ministerial salary budget for exempt staff (and departmental staff for non-political support services if applicable)
2. Ministerial operating budget, which covers all operating expenditures related to the conduct of the portfolio or other official government departmental business
3. students salary
4. Minister’s salary and motorcar allowance (controlled separately)
5. Minister’s regional exempt staff and operating budgets if the Minister is designated a Regional Minister (controlled separately)
6. Ministerial salary & operating budget for the Parliamentary Secretary Assistant (if applicable)

Please note, this is in addition to, and separate from, entitlements that you have as a Member of Parliament.

For planning purposes, the average budget for the Office of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has historically been $1,510,000.00. In addition, $86,000.00 is also received for the Minister’s salary and motorcar as a statutory allowance which is not directly managed by the Minister’s office.

The Department is available at your convenience to discuss any financial inquires you may have, and will seek to brief you and your Chief of Staff as soon as your budget has been received from the Treasury Board.

A Minister’s budget is subject to the same provisions of the Financial Administration Act that apply to all departmental funds and to associated Treasury Board policies, and Ministers are individually responsible and accountable for expenditures made for their offices. A Minister’s budget may also be used only for portfolio and other official government business and is to be spent with high standards of prudence and probity.

You may choose to delegate, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, financial authorities for expenditures to your Chief of Staff or other exempt staff (with the exception of hiring, determination of salaries and salary increases, or termination of exempt staff).

Proactive disclosure is done on a quarterly basis (currently under review, C-58) and requires the mandatory publication on departmental websites of travel and hospitality expenses for Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, exempt staff and by senior level employees at the Deputy Minister, Associate Deputy Minister, Assistant Deputy Minister and equivalent levels. Additionally, contracts entered into by the Government of Canada for amounts over $10,000 (with only limited exceptions, such as national security) are also published on the departmental website. The Department will assist in the development of attestations for each of your staff to review and approve. All reports for the Minister’s Office are also reviewed by the Chief of Staff (or yourself if you prefer) prior to publication.

The Chief Financial Officer will provide you and the Chief of Staff with a comprehensive briefing regarding the Proactive Disclosure process.

The Chief Financial Officer will also provide you (or your delegated authority) with regular financial reports on the status of your budget (including up-to-date expenditures and forecasts based on trends), and will assist your office in responding to the quarterly requirement from the Treasury Board Secretariat to report on Ministerial budgets.