Language selection

Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada

Search

Tag: 2023

Quarterly Report: For the quarter ended December 31, 2023

Date of Publishing:

Introduction

This quarterly report has been prepared by management as required by section 65.1 of the Financial Administration Act and in the form and manner prescribed by the Directive on Accounting Standards, GC 4400 Departmental Quarterly Financial Report. This quarterly financial report should be read in conjunction with the 2023–24 Main Estimates.

This quarterly report has not been subject to an external audit or review.

Mandate

The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) is an independent external review body that reports to Parliament. Established in July 2019, NSIRA is responsible for conducting reviews of the Government of Canada’s national security and intelligence activities to ensure that they are lawful, reasonable and necessary. NSIRA also hears public complaints regarding key national security agencies and their activities.

A summary description NSIRA’s program activities can be found in Part II of the Main Estimates.  Information on NSIRA’s mandate can be found on its website.

Basis of presentation

This quarterly report has been prepared by management using an expenditure basis of accounting. The accompanying Statement of Authorities includes the agency’s spending authorities granted by Parliament and those used by the agency, consistent with the 2023–24 Main Estimates. This quarterly report has been prepared using a special-purpose financial reporting framework (cash basis) designed to meet financial information needs with respect to the use of spending authorities.

The authority of Parliament is required before money can be spent by the government. Approvals are given in the form of annually approved limits through appropriation acts or through legislation in the form of statutory spending authorities for specific purposes.

Highlights of the fiscal quarter and fiscal year-to-date results

This section highlights the significant items that contributed to the net increase or decrease in authorities available for the year and actual expenditures for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

NSIRA Secretariat spent approximately 52% of its authorities by the end of the third quarter, compared with 39% in the same quarter of 2022–23 (see graph 1).

Graph 1: Comparison of total authorities and total net budgetary expenditures, Q3 2023–2024 and Q3 2022–2023

Graph: Comparison of total authorities and total net budgetary expenditures - Text version follows
Comparison of total authorities and total net budgetary expenditures, Q3 2023–24 and Q3 2022–23
  2023-24 2022-23
Total Authorities $24.4 $29.8
Q2 Expenditures $4.8 $4.7
Year-to-Date Expenditures $12.8 $11.6

Significant changes to authorities

As at December 31, 2023, Parliament had approved $24.4 million in total authorities for use by NSIRA Secretariat for 2023–24 compared with $29.8 million as of December 31, 2022, for a net decrease of $5.3 million or 18% (see graph 2).

Graph 2: Variance in authorities as at December 31, 2023

Graph: Variance in authorities as at December 31, 2023 - Text version follows
Variance in authorities as at June 30, 2023 (in millions)
  Fiscal year 2022-23 total available for use for the year ended March 31, 2023 Fiscal year 2023-24 total available for use for the year ended March 31, 2024
Vote 1 – Operating 28.1 22.6
Statutory 1.6 1.8
Total budgetary authorities 29.7 24.4

The decrease of $5.3 million in authorities is mostly explained by a gradual reduction in NSIRA Secretariat’s ongoing operating funding due to an ongoing construction project nearing completion.

Significant changes to quarter expenditures

The third quarter expenditures totalled $4.8 million for an increase of $0.1 million when compared with $4.7 million spent during the same period in 2022–2023. Table 1 presents budgetary expenditures by standard object.

Table 1

Variances in expenditures by standard object(in thousands of dollars) Fiscal year 2023–24: expended during the quarter ended December 31, 2023 Fiscal year 2022–23: expended during the quarter ended December 31, 2022 Variance $ Variance %
Personnel 2,866 2,503 363 15%
Transportation and communications 110 82 28 34%
Information 1 4 (3) (75%)
Professional and special services 486 1,271 (785) (62%)
Rentals 78 83 (5) (6%)
Repair and maintenance 1,161 685 476 69%
Utilities, materials and supplies (1) 21 (22) (105%)
Acquisition of machinery and equipment 83 2 81 4050%
Other subsidies and payment (33) 17 (50) (294%)
Total gross budgetary expenditures 4,751 4,668 83 2%

*Details may not sum to totals due to rounding*

Professional and special services

The decrease of $785,000 is due to the timing of invoicing for our Internal Support Services agreement.

Repair and maintenance

The increase of $476,000 is due to the timing of invoicing for an ongoing capital project.

Utilities, materials and supplies

The decrease of $22,000 is due to a temporarily unreconciled acquisition card suspense account.

Acquisition of machinery and equipment

The increase of $81,000 is due to the purchase of software licenses and the corresponding support and maintenance.

Other subsidies and payments

The decrease of $50,000 is explained by a prior year refund that was deposited to NSIRA’s account in error.

Significant changes to year-to-date expenditures

The year-to-date expenditures totalled $12.8 million for an increase of $1.2 million (11%) when compared with $11.6 million spent during the same period in 2022–23. Table 2 presents budgetary expenditures by standard object.

Table 2

Variances in expenditures by standard object(in thousands of dollars) Fiscal year 2023–24: year-to-date expenditures as of December 31, 2023 Fiscal year 2022–23: year-to-date expenditures as of December 31, 2022 Variance $ Variance %
Personnel 8,766 7,751 1,015 13%
Transportation and communications 302 196 106 54%
Information 5 9 (4) (44%)
Professional and special services 2,155 2,695 (540) (20%)
Rentals 151 132 19 14%
Repair and maintenance 1,188 749 439 (59%)
Utilities, materials and supplies 56 49 7 14%
Acquisition of machinery and equipment 135 15 120 800%
Other subsidies and payment 89 18 71 394%
Total gross budgetary expenditures 12,847 11,614 1,233 11%

*Details may not sum to totals due to rounding*

Personnel

The increase of $1,015,000 relates to an increase in average salary, an increase in full time equivalent (FTE) positions, and back-pay from the new collective agreement for the EC and AS occupational groups.

Transportation and communications

The increase in $106,000 is due to the timing of the invoicing for our internet connections.

Professional and special services

The decrease of $540,000 is mainly explained by the conclusion of guard services contracts associated to a capital construction project and the timing of invoicing for internal support services.

Repair and maintenance

The increase of $439,000 is due to the timing of invoicing for an ongoing capital project.

Acquisition of machinery and equipment

The increase of $120,000 is mainly explained by the one-time purchase of a specialized laptop and licenses.

Other subsidies and payments

The increase of $71,000 is due to an increase in salary overpayments.

Risks and uncertainties

The NSIRA Secretariat has made progress on accessing the information required to conduct reviews; however, there continues to be risks associated with reviewees’ ability to respond to, and prioritize, information requests, hindering NSIRA’s ability to deliver its review plan in a timely way. The NSIRA Secretariat will continue to mitigate this risk by providing clear communication related to information requests, tracking their timely completion within communicated timelines, and escalating issues when appropriate.

There is a risk that the funding received to offset pay increases anticipated over the coming year will be insufficient to cover the costs of such increases and the year-over-year cost of services provided by other government departments/agencies is increasing significantly.

Mitigation measures for the risks outlined above have been identified and are factored into NSIRA Secretariat’s approach and timelines for the execution of its mandated activities

Significant changes in relation to operations, personnel and programs

There have been no changes to the NSIRA Secretariat Program.

Approved by senior officials:

John Davies
Executive Director

Martyn Turcotte
Director General, Corporate Services, Chief Financial Officer

Appendix

Statement of authorities (Unaudited)

(in thousands of dollars)

  Fiscal year 2023–24 Fiscal year 2022–23
  Total available for use for the year ending March 31, 2024 (note 1) Used during the quarter ended December 31, 2023 Year to date used at quarter-end Total available for use for the year ending March 31, 2023 (note 1) Used during the quarter ended December 31, 2022 Year to date used at quarter-end
Vote 1 – Net operating expenditures 22,633 4,313 11,531 28.063 4,236 10,318
Budgetary statutory authorities
Contributions to employee benefit plans 1,755 438 1,316 1,728 432 1,296
Total budgetary authorities (note 2) 24,388 4,751 12,847 29,791 4,668 11,614

Note 1: Includes only authorities available for use and granted by Parliament as at quarter-end.

Note 2: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Departmental budgetary expenditures by standard object (unaudited)

(in thousands of dollars)

  Fiscal year 2023–24 Fiscal year 2022–23
  Planned expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2024 (note 1) Expended during the quarter ended December 31, 2023 Year to date used at quarter-end Planned expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2023 Expended during the quarter ended December 31, 2022 Year to date used at quarter-end
Expenditures
Personnel 13,372 2,866 8,766 13,389 2,503 7,751
Transportation and communications 650 110 302 597 82 196
Information 371 1 5 372 4 9
Professional and special services 4,906 486 2,155 4,902 1,271 2,695
Rentals 271 78 151 271 83 132
Repair and maintenance 4,580 1,161 1,188 9,722 685 749
Utilities, materials and supplies 73 (1) 56 173 21 49
Acquisition of machinery and equipment 132 83 135 232 2 15
Other subsidies and payments 33 (33) 89 133 17 18
Total gross budgetary expenditures
(note 2)		 24,388 4,751 12,847 29,791 4,668 11,614

Note 1: Includes only authorities available for use and granted by Parliament as at quarter-end.

Note 2: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Share this page

No endorsement of any products or services is expressed or implied.

Share this page
Date Modified:

NSICOP-NSIRA Memorandum of understanding

Date of Publishing:

Between

The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Secretariat (NSICOP);

And

The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Secretariat (NSIRA) (“the Participants”).

In light of section 9 of the NSICOP Act and section 13 of the NSIRA Act, the Participants intend to cooperate as follows:

1. Objectives and scope

1.1 The objectives of this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) are to:

  • set out a framework for cooperation to avoid unnecessary duplication of work;
  • establish procedures for information sharing, and set parameters for information management;
  • specify the Participants’ respective roles and responsibilities with respect to this MOU; and
  • be transparent in informing the public and government institutions about the Participants’ agreement regarding cooperation.

1.2 The contents of this MOU do not preclude the development of other collaborative initiatives to meet objectives other than those described in paragraph 1.1.

2. MoU Governance

2.1 Each Participant is represented by the Secretariat’s Executive Director, who will sign this MOU and any subsequent amendment to this MoU.

2.2 For the purposes of administering this MOU, the Participants’ designated representatives are:

  • For the NSICOP, the Director of Operations, NSICOP Secretariat; and
  • For the NSIRA, the General Counsel and Senior Director, Review, NSIRA Secretariat

3. Consultations

3.1 The Participants will meet at least once annually to discuss their respective review body’s review planning cycle and other relevant topics.

3.2 The designated representatives, or their delegates, will also consult with each other:

  • at the beginning of each review body’s review planning;
  • when review plans are significantly amended or updated;
  • for purposes of cooperation in relation to other activities or procedures related to the Participants’ mandates (for example, translation, press conferences or document publication);
  • when information sharing is warranted; and
  • as required by NSICOP and NSIRA to fulfil their mandates.

3.3 Any record of decisions between the Participants will be documented as determined by the Participants at the time of the consultation or meeting.

4. Ongoing cooperation and information exchange

4.1 The Participants agree to maintain open channels of communication in order to identify as early as possible matters where it would be useful to cooperate or to share information to avoid unnecessary duplication in pursuit of their respective mandates.

4.2 Each Participant will share information with the other Participant as necessary to meet the objectives of their respective enabling statutes.

Cooperation on reviews

4.3 The review bodies must cooperate to avoid unnecessary duplication in the fulfilment of their respective mandates. This includes:

  • consulting and deconflicting on review plans to avoid the review bodies from conducting a review on a similar issue or matter at the same time;
  • sharing classified versions of previous relevant reviews subject to paragraph 4.7 below;
  • consulting and deconflicting throughout their respective reviews where there is potential for duplication.
  • leveraging expertise or best practices; and
  • sharing tools or techniques on review methods.

Procedure for providing information to the other Participant under this MOU.

4.4 A Participant may, on its own initiative or on request, provide information to the other Participant.

4.5 Requests for information should be sent by a Participant’s designated representative to the designated representative of the other Participant. The request must include the following:

  • a concise rationale outlining how the information is related to their review body’s mandate and the intended use of the shared information;
  • the scope of the request for information (that is, what is being requested); and
  • the name(s) of the recipient(s) of the information.

4.6 The Participants will keep internal records on information that is shared.

Limitations on information sharing

4.7 Both Participants will inform and consult with relevant departments and agencies prior to requesting, or sharing on their own initiative, any information obtained from those departments or agencies. This will provide implicated departments and agencies the opportunity to review the reports for compliance with section 14 of the NSICOP Act or to invoke subsection 16(1) of the NSICOP Act.

5. Information management

5.1 The Participants agree to maintain appropriate safeguards to protect information and records obtained or created under this MOU, and to act in accordance with applicable federal legislation, policies and guidelines regarding their collection, retention, use, disclosure and disposal.

5.2 For greater certainty, the Participants agree that

  • Only representatives with appropriate security clearances, indoctrinations, and the need to know may participate in coordinated activities; and
  • Classified information must be handled and stored in accordance with the Treasury Board Secretariat requirements set out in the Directive on Security Management issued pursuant to the Policy on Government Security.

6. Access to files by third parties

6.1 In cases where a Participant receives any request from a third party for access to, or disclosure of, information or documents received from the other Participant, it will notify the other Participant as soon as practicable to enable NSICOP to invoke section 16.6 of the Access to Information Act, if applicable.

7. Administration

7.1 This MOU takes effect on the date of the last signature.

7.2 This MOU may be amended at any time with the written consent of the Participants.

7.3 This MOU is not intended to be legally binding or judicially enforceable.

7.4 Either Participant may terminate this MOU by giving the other Participant at least 30days’ written notice.

7.5 In the spirit of cooperation, the Participants agree that any dispute arising under this MOU will be resolved through informal discussions at the appropriate level.

The undersigned have signed this MOU in the English and French languages and both versions are equally authoritative.

Share this page

No endorsement of any products or services is expressed or implied.

Share this page
Date Modified:

Quarterly Report: For the quarter ended September 30, 2023

Date of Publishing:

Introduction

This quarterly report has been prepared by management as required by section 65.1 of the Financial Administration Act and in the form and manner prescribed by the Directive on Accounting Standards, GC 4400 Departmental Quarterly Financial Report. This quarterly financial report should be read in conjunction with the 2023–24 Main Estimates.

This quarterly report has not been subject to an external audit or review.

Mandate

The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) is an independent external review body that reports to Parliament. Established in July 2019, NSIRA is responsible for conducting reviews of the Government of Canada’s national security and intelligence activities to ensure that they are lawful, reasonable and necessary. NSIRA also hears public complaints regarding key national security agencies and their activities.

A summary description NSIRA’s program activities can be found in Part II of the Main Estimates.  Information on NSIRA’s mandate can be found on its website.

Basis of presentation

This quarterly report has been prepared by management using an expenditure basis of accounting. The accompanying Statement of Authorities includes the agency’s spending authorities granted by Parliament and those used by the agency, consistent with the 2023–24 Main Estimates. This quarterly report has been prepared using a special-purpose financial reporting framework (cash basis) designed to meet financial information needs with respect to the use of spending authorities.

The authority of Parliament is required before money can be spent by the government. Approvals are given in the form of annually approved limits through appropriation acts or through legislation in the form of statutory spending authorities for specific purposes.

Highlights of the fiscal quarter and fiscal year-to-date results

This section highlights the significant items that contributed to the net increase or decrease in authorities available for the year and actual expenditures for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

NSIRA Secretariat spent approximately 33% of its authorities by the end of the second quarter, compared with 23% in the same quarter of 2022–23 (see graph 1).

Graph 1: Comparison of total authorities and total net budgetary expenditures, Q2 2023–24 and Q2 2022–23

Graph: Comparison of total authorities and total net budgetary expenditures - Text version follows
Comparison of total authorities and total net budgetary expenditures, Q2 2023–24 and Q2 2022–23
  2023-24 2022-23
Total Authorities $24.3 $29.7
Q2 Expenditures $3.8 $3.6
Year-to-Date Expenditures $8.1 $6.9

Significant changes to authorities

As at September 30, 2023, Parliament had approved $24.3 million in total authorities for use by NSIRA Secretariat for 2023–24 compared with $29.7 million as of September 30th, 2022, for a net decrease of $5.4 million or 18.2% (see graph 2).

Graph 2: Variance in authorities as at September 30, 2023

Graph: Variance in authorities as at September 30, 2023 - Text version follows
Variance in authorities as at June 30, 2023 (in millions)
  Fiscal year 2022-23 total available for use for the year ended March 31, 2023 Fiscal year 2023-24 total available for use for the year ended March 31, 2024
Vote 1 – Operating 28.0 22.6
Statutory 1.7 1.7
Total budgetary authorities 29.7 24.3

*Details may not sum to totals due to rounding*

The decrease of $5.4 million in authorities is mostly explained by a gradual reduction in NSIRA Secretariat’s ongoing operating funding due to an ongoing construction project nearing completion.

Significant changes to quarter expenditures

The second quarter expenditures totalled $3.8 million for an increase of $0.2 million when compared with $3.6 million spent during the same period in 2022–2023.  Table 1 presents budgetary expenditures by standard object.

Table 1

Variances in expenditures by standard object(in thousands of dollars) Fiscal year 2023–24: expended during the quarter ended September 30, 2023 Fiscal year 2022–23: expended during the quarter ended September 30, 2022 Variance $ Variance %
Personnel 3,014 2,903 111 4%
Transportation and communications 62 70 (8) (11%)
Information 4 0 4 100%
Professional and special services 504 578 (74) (13%)
Rentals 25 39 (14) (36%)
Repair and maintenance 3 33 (30) (91%)
Utilities, materials and supplies 50 12 38 317%
Acquisition of machinery and equipment 4 4 0 0%
Other subsidies and payment 118 3 115 3833%
Total gross budgetary expenditures 3,784 3,642 142 4%

Repair and maintenance

The decrease of $30,000 is due to the timing of invoicing for an ongoing capital project.

Utilities, materials and supplies

The increase of $38,000 is due to a temporarily unreconciled suspense account.

Other subsidies and payments

The increase of $115,000 is explained by an increase in payroll system overpayments which were subsequently resolved.

Significant changes to year-to-date expenditures

The year-to-date expenditures totalled $8.1 million for an increase of $1.1 million (17%) when compared with $6.9 million spent during the same period in 2022–23. Table 2 presents budgetary expenditures by standard object.

Table 2

Variances in expenditures by standard object(in thousands of dollars) Fiscal year 2023–24: year-to-date expenditures as of September 30, 2023 Fiscal year 2022–23: year-to-date expenditures as of September 30, 2022 Variance $ Variance %
Personnel 5,900 5,248 652 12%
Transportation and communications 192 114 78 68%
Information 4 5 (1) (20%)
Professional and special services 1,669 1,424 245 17%
Rentals 73 49 24 49%
Repair and maintenance 27 64 (37) (58%)
Utilities, materials and supplies 57 28 29 104%
Acquisition of machinery and equipment 52 13 39 300%
Other subsidies and payment 122 1 121 12100%
Total gross budgetary expenditures 8,096 6,946 1,150 17%

Personnel

The increase of $652,000 relates to an increase in average salary and an increase in full time equivalent (FTE) positions.

Transportation and communications

The increase of $78,000 is due to the timing of invoicing for the organization’s internet connections.

Professional and special services

The increase of $245,000 is explained by an increase in IT support costs and guard services associated to a capital construction project.

Repair and maintenance

The decrease of $37,000 is due to the timing of invoicing for an ongoing capital project.

Utilities, materials and supplies

The increase of $29,000 is due to a temporarily unreconciled suspense account.

Acquisition of machinery and equipment

The increase of $39,000 is mainly explained by the one-time purchase of a specialized laptop.

Other subsidies and payments

The increase of $121,000 is explained by an increase in payroll system overpayments which were subsequently resolved.

Risks and uncertainties

The Secretariat assisted NSIRA in its work with the departments and agencies subjected to reviews to ensure a timely and unfettered access to all the information necessary for the conduct of reviews. While work remains to be done on this front, we acknowledge the improvements in cooperation and support to the independent review process demonstrated by some reviewees.

There is a risk that the funding received to offset pay increases anticipated over the coming year will be insufficient to cover the costs of such increases and the year-over-year cost of services provided by other government departments/agencies is increasing significantly.

NSIRA Secretariat is closely monitoring pay transactions to identify and address over and under payments in a timely manner and continues to apply ongoing mitigating controls.

Mitigation measures for the risks outlined above have been identified and are factored into NSIRA Secretariat’s approach and timelines for the execution of its mandated activities.

Significant changes in relation to operations, personnel and programs

There have been two new Governor-in-Council appointments during the Second quarter, Ms. Colleen Swords and Mr. Jim Chu. 

There have been no changes to the NSIRA Secretariat Program.

Approved by senior officials:

John Davies
Deputy Head

Marc-André Cloutier
Director General, Corporate Services, Chief Financial Officer

Appendix

Statement of authorities (Unaudited)

(in thousands of dollars)

  Fiscal year 2023–24 Fiscal year 2022–23
  Total available for use for the year ending March 31, 2024 (note 1) Used during the quarter ended September 30, 2023 Year to date used at quarter-end Total available for use for the year ending March 31, 2023 (note 1) Used during the quarter ended September 30, 2022 Year to date used at quarter-end
Vote 1 – Net operating expenditures 22,564 3,345 7,218 27,931 3,210 6,082
Budgetary statutory authorities
Contributions to employee benefit plans 1,755 439 878 1,728 432 864
Total budgetary authorities (note 2) 24,319 3,784 8,096 29,659 3,642 6,946

Note 1: Includes only authorities available for use and granted by Parliament as at quarter-end.

Note 2: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Departmental budgetary expenditures by standard object (unaudited)

(in thousands of dollars)

  Fiscal year 2023–24 Fiscal year 2022–23
  Planned expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2024 (note 1) Expended during the quarter ended September 30, 2023 Year to date used at quarter-end Planned expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2023 Expended during the quarter ended September 30, 2022 Year to date used at quarter-end
Expenditures
Personnel 13,303 3,014 5,900 13,245 2,903 5,248
Transportation and communications 650 62 192 597 70 114
Information 371 4 4 372 0 5
Professional and special services 4,906 504 1,669 4,914 578 1,424
Rentals 271 25 73 271 39 49
Repair and maintenance 4,580 24 27 9,722 33 64
Utilities, materials and supplies 73 50 57 173 12 28
Acquisition of machinery and equipment 132 4 52 232 4 13
Other subsidies and payments 33 118 122 133 3 1
Total gross budgetary expenditures
(note 2)		 24,319 3,784 8,096 29,659 3,642 6,946

Note 1: Includes only authorities available for use and granted by Parliament as at quarter-end.

Note 2: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Share this page

No endorsement of any products or services is expressed or implied.

Share this page
Date Modified:

Quarterly Report: For the quarter ended June 30, 2023

Date of Publishing:

Introduction

This quarterly report has been prepared by management as required by section 65.1 of the Financial Administration Act and in the form and manner prescribed by the Directive on Accounting Standards, GC 4400 Departmental Quarterly Financial Report. This quarterly financial report should be read in conjunction with the 2023–24 Main Estimates.

This quarterly report has not been subject to an external audit or review.

Mandate

The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) is an independent external review body that reports to Parliament. Established in July 2019, NSIRA is responsible for conducting reviews of the Government of Canada’s national security and intelligence activities to ensure that they are lawful, reasonable and necessary. NSIRA also hears public complaints regarding key national security agencies and their activities.

A summary description NSIRA’s program activities can be found in Part II of the Main Estimates.  Information on NSIRA’s mandate can be found on its website.

Basis of presentation

This quarterly report has been prepared by management using an expenditure basis of accounting. The accompanying Statement of Authorities includes the agency’s spending authorities granted by Parliament and those used by the agency, consistent with the 2023–24 Main Estimates. This quarterly report has been prepared using a special-purpose financial reporting framework (cash basis) designed to meet financial information needs with respect to the use of spending authorities.

The authority of Parliament is required before money can be spent by the government. Approvals are given in the form of annually approved limits through appropriation acts or through legislation in the form of statutory spending authorities for specific purposes.

Highlights of the fiscal quarter and fiscal year-to-date results

This section highlights the significant items that contributed to the net increase or decrease in authorities available for the year and actual expenditures for the quarter ended June 30, 2023.

NSIRA spent approximately 19% of its authorities by the end of the first quarter, compared with 12% in the same quarter of 2022–23 (see graph 1).

Graph 1: Comparison of total authorities and total net budgetary expenditures, Q1 2023–24 and Q1 2022–23

Comparison of total authorities and total net budgetary expenditures, Q1 2023–24 and Q1 2022–23
  2023-24 2022-23
Total Authorities $23.0 $28.3
Q1 Expenditures $4.3 $3.3

Significant changes to authorities

As of June 30, 2023, Parliament had approved $23.0 million in total authorities for use by NSIRA for 2023–24 compared with $28.3 million as of June 30th, 2022, for a net decrease of $5.3 million or 8.1% (see graph 2).

Graph 2: Variance in authorities as at June 30, 2023

Variance in authorities as at June 30, 2023 (in millions)
  Fiscal year 2022-23 total available for use for the year ended March 31, 2023 Fiscal year 2023-24 total available for use for the year ended March 31, 2024
Vote 1 – Operating 26.5 21.3
Statutory 1.7 1.8
Total budgetary authorities 28.2 23.0

*Details may not sum to totals due to rounding*

The decrease of $5.3 million in authorities is mostly explained by a reduction in capital funding for infrastructure projects.

Significant changes to quarter expenditures

The first quarter expenditures totalled $4.3 million for an increase of $1 million when compared with $3.3 million spent during the same period in 2022–23.  Table 1 presents budgetary expenditures by standard object.

Table 1

Variances in expenditures by standard object(in thousands of dollars) Fiscal year 2023–24: expended during the quarter ended June 30, 2023 Fiscal year 2022–23: expended during the quarter ended June 30, 2022 Variance $ Variance %
Personnel 2,886 2,345 541 23%
Transportation and communications 130 44 86 195%
Information 0 5 (5) 100%
Professional and special services 1,165 846 319 38%
Rentals 48 10 38 380%
Repair and maintenance 24 31 (7) (23%)
Utilities, materials and supplies 7 16 (9) (56%)%
Acquisition of machinery and equipment 48 9 39 433%
Other subsidies and payment 4 (2) (6) (300%)
Total gross budgetary expenditures 4,312 3,304 1,008 31%

Personnel

The increase of $541,000 is largely caused by an increase in cost per FTE and change in the timing of Member’s pay.

Transportation and communications

The increase of $86,000 is explained by a change in the timing of invoicing for the internet connection.

Professional and special services

The increase of $319,000 is mainly explained by an increase in the cost of the maintenance and services in support of our classified IT network infrastructure. It also relates to the use of guard services for office accommodation fit-up.

Rentals

The increase of $38,000 is explained by a change in the timing of invoicing for the rent for temporary office space.

Acquisition of machinery and equipment

The increase of $39,000 is explained by a one-time purchase of a specialized laptop along with a wall mounted charging station and warranty.

Risks and uncertainties

The Secretariat assisted NSIRA in its work with the departments and agencies subjected to reviews to ensure a timely and unfettered access to all the information necessary for the conduct of reviews. While work remains to be done on this front, we acknowledge the improvements in cooperation and support to the independent review process demonstrated by some reviewees.

There is a risk that the funding received to offset pay increases anticipated over the coming year will be insufficient to cover the costs of such increases and the year-over-year cost of services provided by other government departments/agencies is increasing significantly.

NSIRA is closely monitoring pay transactions to identify and address over and under payments in a timely manner and continues to apply ongoing mitigating controls.

Mitigation measures for the risks outlined above have been identified and are factored into NSIRA’s approach and timelines for the execution of its mandated activities.

Significant changes in relation to operations, personnel and programs

There have been no new Governor-in-Council appointments during the first quarter.

Mr. Pierre Souligny, NSIRA’s Senior Director, Corporate Services and CFO since 2020, has retired. He has been replaced by Mr. Marc-André Cloutier.

Approved by senior officials:

John Davies
Deputy Head

Pierre Souligny
Chief Financial Officer

Appendix

Statement of authorities (Unaudited)

(in thousands of dollars)

  Fiscal year 2023–24 Fiscal year 2022–23
  Total available for use for the year ending March 31, 2024 (note 1) Used during the quarter ended June 30, 2023 Year to date used at quarter-end Total available for use for the year ending March 31, 2023 (note 1) Used during the quarter ended June 30, 2022 Year to date used at quarter-end
Vote 1 – Net operating expenditures 21,254 3,873 3,873 26,523 2,872 2,872
Budgetary statutory authorities
Contributions to employee benefit plans 1,728 439 439 1,728 432 432
Total budgetary authorities (note 2) 23,009 4,312 4,312 28,251 3,304 3,304

Note 1: Includes only authorities available for use and granted by Parliament as at quarter-end.

Note 2: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Departmental budgetary expenditures by standard object (unaudited)

(in thousands of dollars)

  Fiscal year 2023–24 Fiscal year 2022–23
  Planned expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2024 (note 1) Expended during the quarter ended June 30, 2023 Year to date used at quarter-end Planned expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2023 Expended during the quarter ended June 30, 2022 Year to date used at quarter-end
Expenditures
Personnel 13,303 2,886 2,886 13,245 2,345 2,345
Transportation and communications 650 130 130 597 44 44
Information 372 0 0 372 5 5
Professional and special services 3,596 1,165 1,165 3,506 846 846
Rentals 271 48 48 271 10 10
Repair and maintenance 4,580 24 24 9,722 31 31
Utilities, materials and supplies 73 7 7 103 3 3
Acquisition of machinery and equipment 132 48 48 232 9 9
Other subsidies and payments 33 4 4 133 (2) (2)
Total gross budgetary expenditures
(note 2)		 23,009 4,312 4,312 28,251 3,304 3,304

Note 1: Includes only authorities available for use and granted by Parliament as at quarter-end.

Note 2: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Share this page

No endorsement of any products or services is expressed or implied.

Share this page
Date Modified: