4th Session, 42nd Legislature
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Bill 16
THE FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AMENDMENT ACT
| Bilingual version (PDF) | Explanatory Note |
(Assented to )
HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:
The Financial Administration Act is amended by this Act.
Subsection 6(4) is amended
(a) in clause (a), by replacing subclause (ii) with the following:
(ii) performance and outcome reporting, including how performance and outcomes are to be measured and reported;
(b) by replacing clause (k) with the following:
(k) respecting the borrowing or lending of money by the government and authorizing, restricting or prohibiting
(i) the borrowing, raising or lending of money by a reporting organization, including respecting the issuance of securities to raise money, or
(ii) the giving of a guarantee by a reporting organization in respect of a debt or other obligation of any person or organization;
Clause 12(2)(d) is amended by striking out "clause 53(a)" and substituting "clause 50(1)(a)".
The following is added as subsection 30(3):
The main estimates for a fiscal year must be structured as follows:
(a) Part A, which must set out the estimates of the operating expenses to be incurred by the government in the fiscal year;
(b) Part B, which must set out the estimates of the capital expenditures to be incurred by the government in the fiscal year;
(c) Part C, which must set out the estimates of the amounts to be paid out of the Consolidated Fund in the fiscal year in support of loans, loan programs or guarantee programs of the government or a reporting organization;
(d) Part D, which must set out the estimates of the amounts to be paid out of the Consolidated Fund in the fiscal year as grants or loans in support of capital investments by reporting organizations.
Section 31 is replaced with the following:
Supplement to the main estimates of expenditure
The minister who is responsible for a government department or who is identified by Treasury Board as being responsible for a government entity or program must table a supplement to the main estimates of expenditure for the department, entity or program in the Legislative Assembly.
The supplement must be tabled on or before the day the motion for the government's budget, as provided for in the Rules of the Assembly, is voted on by members of the Legislative Assembly.
The supplement must be in the form approved by Treasury Board and must
(a) set out the appropriations for the department, entity or program and include a comparison of those appropriations with the relevant appropriations for the previous fiscal year;
(b) for a department
(i) include a statement of its mission and its objectives and outcomes and how the attainment of the objectives and outcomes to be achieved in the fiscal year are to be measured and reported,
(ii) set out the number and distribution of employees who work in the department, and a comparison of that number and distribution of employees with the relevant number and distribution of employees in the preceding fiscal year, measured in full-time equivalent employees; and
(c) contain any other information about the operations of the department, entity or program that Treasury Board requires.
Section 31.1 is amended by adding "for a fiscal year" after "Legislative Assembly".
The heading for Part 5 is replaced with "BORROWING BY GOVERNMENT REPORTING ENTITY".
Subsection 49(2) is replaced with the following:
Borrowing authority limit — government reporting entity (other than Manitoba Hydro)
Subject to subsection (4), the total of the following amounts must not exceed $44,400,000,000 at the end of the fiscal year:
(a) the amount of the debt shown on the summary financial statements of the government reporting entity that is attributable to amounts borrowed or raised by the government or a reporting organization, less the portion that is attributable to amounts borrowed or raised
(i) by or for Manitoba Hydro or to satisfy a liability under a guarantee of Manitoba Hydro's debt, or
(ii) to refinance existing debt that is to be refinanced within the ensuing fiscal year;
(b) the balance that is or may become owing under guarantees given by the government or a reporting organization, other than a guarantee given in respect of a debt included under clause (a) or a debt of Manitoba Hydro.
Borrowing authority limit — Manitoba Hydro
Subject to subsection (4), the portion of the debt shown on the summary financial statements of the government reporting entity that is attributable to amounts borrowed or raised by or for Manitoba Hydro or to satisfy a liability under a guarantee of Manitoba Hydro's debt (other than any portion attributable to amounts borrowed or raised to refinance existing debt that is to be refinanced within the ensuing fiscal year) must not exceed $29,300,000,000 at the end of the fiscal year.
Exception — borrowing in extraordinary circumstances
With the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the following amounts may be excluded from the calculation under subsection (2) or (3), as the case may be:
(a) an amount that was borrowed or raised because of extraordinary circumstances, including the event of a pandemic or a natural or other disaster, that
(i) arose after the last time that subsection was amended, and
(ii) resulted in an unanticipated increase in expenditures or reduction in revenue;
(b) an amount that was borrowed or raised to repay an amount referred to in clause (a).
"Manitoba Hydro" includes subsidiaries
For the purpose of this section, "Manitoba Hydro" includes every subsidiary of Manitoba Hydro whose financial results are included in Manitoba Hydro's consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
The following is added after section 49:
Debt estimates to be included with budget
The budget as presented to the Legislative Assembly for a fiscal year must include or be accompanied by a statement regarding the debts of the government reporting entity that sets out
(a) the following amounts as at the end of the last fiscal year for which summary financial statements have been tabled under section 65:
(i) the amounts referred to in clauses 49(2)(a) and (b) (balance owing on amounts borrowed other than by or for Manitoba Hydro) and subsection 49(3) (balance owing on amounts borrowed by or for Manitoba Hydro), and
(ii) the amounts, if any, excluded under subsection 49(4) from subsection 49(2) or (3) (amounts borrowed in extraordinary circumstances); and
(b) the government's estimates of the amounts referred to in subclauses (a)(i) and (ii) as at the beginning and the end of the budget year.
Subsection 50(1) is replaced with the following:
Authority to borrow or raise money
Subject to section 49, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may authorize the Minister of Finance, or designate and authorize an officer of the Department of Finance, to borrow or raise money to a specified maximum amount on the credit of the government for one or more of the following purposes:
(a) to fund the Consolidated Fund when the Minister of Finance determines that it is or will be insufficient to meet the disbursements that are or are expected to be lawfully authorized to be made from it;
(b) to fund grants and loans authorized under this or any other Act of the Legislature;
(c) to redeem or repay provincial securities;
(d) to redeem or repay securities the repayment of which has been guaranteed by the government.
The part of subsection 50(2) before clause (a) is amended
(a) by striking out "Order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council" and substituting "order in council"; and
(b) by adding "borrow or" before "raise".
The part of section 51 before clause (a) is amended by striking out "Order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council" and substituting "order in council".
Clause 52(a) is amended
(a) by striking out "granted by an Order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council" and substituting "given by an order in council"; and
(b) by striking out "the third business day immediately preceding".
The heading for Part 6 is amended by striking out "BY THE GOVERNMENT".
Subsection 61(1) is replaced with the following:
Minister's authority to advance loans
Subject to any regulation or directive made or issued under subsection 6(4), the Minister of Finance may advance money as a loan to a reporting organization or other person to the extent permitted by section 63 or by any other Act of the Legislature.
Additional authority for short-term loans
Subject to any limit imposed by or under this or any other Act of the Legislature, the Minister of Finance may advance money, as a loan repayable in full within one year, to a reporting organization
(a) with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council; or
(b) as authorized by a regulation under subsection 6(4).
Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the Minister of Finance may determine the terms and conditions that apply to an advance under subsection (1) or (1.1).
Equity investment in lieu of loan
With the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, money that may be advanced under subsection (1) to a reporting organization may be advanced instead as an investment in shares of the organization.
Section 62 is replaced with the following:
The Lieutenant Governor in Council may authorize the Minister of Finance, or designate and authorize an officer of the Department of Finance,
(a) to guarantee, on behalf of the government,
(i) a security issued by a reporting organization or other person under the authority of an Act of the Legislature, or
(ii) the repayment of an amount borrowed by a reporting organization or other person under the authority of an Act of the Legislature; and
(b) to execute all documents and instruments in relation to the guarantee.
The part of subsection 63(1) before clause (a) is amended
(a) by striking out "When" and substituting "Subject to subsection (2) and section 49, when"; and
(b) by striking out "government agency" and substituting "reporting organization".
Subsection 63(2) is replaced with the following:
Limit on supplementary authority
The total of the loans and guarantees made or given under subsection (1) in a fiscal year must not exceed the amount prescribed for the purpose of this section by an Appropriation Act. The prescribed limit continues to apply in each fiscal year until changed by another Appropriation Act.
Unless the order in council authorizing a loan or guarantee under this section specifies a different expiry date, the authorization expires one year after the day the authorization was granted.
The following is added after section 63:
Organization's authority to borrow
A reporting organization or other person is deemed to have the authority to borrow any amount to be loaned to it by the government under the authority of this or any other Act of the Legislature.
Restriction on borrowing authority of reporting organization
A reporting organization may not borrow money except
(a) as authorized
(i) by subsection (1) or by or under another Act of the Legislature,
(ii) by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, or
(iii) by regulation under subsection 6(4);
(b) to repay or refinance an existing loan or pay an amount required to honour a guarantee;
(c) to pay money required to be paid by order of a court of competent jurisdiction or a tribunal or by an arbitration award; or
(d) to pay money in settlement of a claim.
Restrictions on borrowing for temporary purposes
Unless a reporting organization's authority to borrow money for temporary purposes is limited by another Act of the Legislature to a specified amount, that authority is subject to any restriction imposed by regulation or directive under subsection 6(4).
Restriction on borrowing to settle a claim
If the amount to be borrowed to settle a claim as permitted by clause (2)(d) is more than $50,000 (or any greater amount prescribed by regulation for the purpose of subsection 41(4)), the reporting organization may not borrow the amount without the prior approval of Treasury Board.
Payment out of Consolidated Fund
Money required for a loan from the government under subsection 61(1.1) or section 63 may be paid out of the Consolidated Fund without any legislative authority other than this section.
Subsection 65(1) is amended by striking out "and" at the end of clause (b) and replacing clause (c) with the following:
(c) a statement regarding the debts of the government reporting entity as at the end of the fiscal year that sets out
(i) the amounts referred to in clauses 49(2)(a) and (b) (balance owing on amounts borrowed other than by or for Manitoba Hydro) and subsection 49(3) (balance owing on amounts borrowed by or for Manitoba Hydro), and
(ii) the amounts, if any, excluded under subsection 49(4) from subsection 49(2) or (3) (amounts borrowed in extraordinary circumstances); and
(d) any other information required by or under this Act or by the Minister of Finance to be reported in the public accounts.
Section 67 is amended
(a) by renumbering it as subsection 67(1); and
(b) in the French version, by striking out "ministère du gouvernement" and substituting "ministère gouvernemental".
Section 67 is further amended by adding the following as subsection 67(2):
Content of report — government department
A report on the operations of a government
department must specify
(a) the outcomes achieved by it in the fiscal year, measured as set out in the applicable supplement to the main estimates of expenditures, along with a description of how the outcomes were measured; and
(b) the number and distribution of its staff in the fiscal year, measured in full-time equivalent employees.
RELATED AND CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS
Subclause 50(1)(a)(ii) of The Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation Act is amended by striking out "or a Loan Act".
Clause 16(1)(b) of The Manitoba Centennial Centre Corporation Act is amended by striking out "or a Loan Act".
Clause 14(1)(b) of The Centre culturel franco-manitobain Act is amended by striking out "or a Loan Act".
Subclause 14(1)(a)(ii) of The Manitoba Development Corporation Act is amended by striking out "or a Loan Act".
The Manitoba Hydro Act is amended by this section.
The following is added after section 29:
Limitation on borrowing authority
The corporation's authority to borrow or raise money under this Part is subject to section 49 of The Financial Administration Act.
Subsection 30(1) is amended by striking out "not exceeding in the aggregate the sum of $1,500,000,000 of principal outstanding at any one time,".
Subsection 32(1) is amended by striking out "and The Loans Act".
Subclause 14(1)(a)(ii) of The Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act is amended by striking out "or a Loan Act".
Clause 24(2)(a) of The Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation Act is replaced with the following:
(a) borrow amounts that the government is authorized to loan to it under The Financial Administration Act;
Subclause 16(1)(a)(ii) of The Travel Manitoba Act is amended by striking out "or a Loan Act".
COMING INTO FORCE
This Act comes into force on a day to be fixed by proclamation.