Quarterly Financial Report: Quarter ended September 30, 2023

1.1 Authority, Mandate and Departmental Results

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) continues to renew the nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown, government-to-government relationship between Canada and First Nations, Inuit and Métis; modernize Government of Canada structures to enable Indigenous Peoples to build capacity and support their vision of self-determination; and lead the Government of Canada's work in the North.

The responsibility for CIRNAC is shared between the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and the Minister of Northern Affairs.

Further details on CIRNAC's authority, mandate and departmental results can be found in Part II of the Main Estimates and the Departmental Plan.

1.2 Basis of Presentation

This quarterly report has been prepared by management using an expenditure basis of accounting. The accompanying statement of authorities (Table 1) includes the Department's spending authorities granted by Parliament, and those used by the Department consistent with the Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates for the 2023–24 fiscal year. This quarterly report has been prepared using a special purpose financial reporting framework 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 authority for specific purposes. The Department uses the full accrual accounting method to prepare and present its annual departmental financial statements that are part of the departmental results reporting process. However, the spending authorities voted by Parliament remain on an expenditure basis.

1.3 General Descriptions

The following descriptions are referred to throughout the report:

• Authority: Approvals from Parliament to spend up to a specific amount.
• Operating (Vote 1 and Statutory):
  • Vote 1: Amount approved for the fiscal year for the Department to spend on operating expenditures.
  • Statutory: Amount approved through an existing Act of Parliament.
• Capital (Vote 5): Amount approved for the fiscal year for the Department to spend on capital purchases or for the construction of assets.
• Grants and Contributions (G&C's) (Vote 10 and Statutory):
  • Vote 10: Amount approved for the fiscal year for the Department as Grants and Contributions (G&C's) transfer payments to recipients.
  • Statutory: Amount approved through an existing Act of Parliament.
• Standard Object (SO): Classification or coding of transactions to permit the reporting of information about the nature of transactions in the Estimates and Public Accounts. Classifications include, for example, personnel, professional and special services, and transfer payments.
• Government Contingencies (TB Vote 5): Temporary advances for urgent or unforeseen items that require funding in advance of the next Supplementary Estimates and related Supply bill.
• Operating and Capital Budget Carry Forward: Eligible funds lapsed in the previous fiscal year brought forward to the following year.

2.1 Authorities available for use

This section highlights the financial results for the quarter and fiscal year-to date ended September 30, 2023, and provides an explanation of variances in authorities available for use compared to the same period in the prior year.

CIRNAC's total budgetary authorities available for use at the end of the second quarter in 2023-24 is $17,373.4 million which is comprised of the Department's 2023-24 Main Estimates of $9,133.1 million, Supplementary Estimates (A) of $8,223.2 million, as well as the allotment adjustment related to the Operating and Capital Budget Carry Forwards of $17.1 million.

2.1.1 Highlights of changes in authorities available for use (2023-24 compared to 2022-23)

At the end of the second quarter in 2023-24, CIRNAC's total budgetary authorities of $17,373.4 million is $10,022.4 million higher than the same period in 2022-23. The increase in authorities can be mainly attributed to the following initiatives:

• Funding to Implement the Expedited Resolution Strategy for Agricultural Benefits Claims (+$4,063 million);
• Funding for the Gottfriedson Band Class Settlement Agreement (+$2,894.5 million);
• Funding for Specific Claims Settlements (+$2,445.0 million);
• Funding for childhood claims including Federal Indian Day School (McLean) and Sixties Scoop settlement (+$583.2 million).

The changes in authorities available for use are illustrated in Graph 1 below.

Graph 1: Comparison of Total Net Budgetary Authorities Available for Use as of September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2022 (in thousands of dollars)

Text alternative for Comparison of Authorities Available as of September 30, 2023

(In thousands of dollars)

Fiscal Year	Operating1	Capital	Grants and Contributions1	Total
2023-24	5,764,934	4,292	11,604,148	17,373,374
2022-23	1,311,403	547	6,038,983	7,350,933
Variance	4,453,531	3,745	5,565,165	10,022,441
1 Including statutory authorities.

See Table 1: Statement of Authorities and Table 2: Departmental Budgetary Expenditures by Standard Object for additional details.

2.2 Authorities used and actual expenditures

Actual expenditures during this quarter was $1,551 million, mainly due to the following:

• Operating expenditures related to payments for the Federal Indian Day School (McLean) settlement ($500 million) and for the remediation and care and maintenance of contaminated sites ($98 million); and
• Grants and Contributions payments for the settlement of specific claims ($415 million) and payments to Self-government agreements ($116 million).

Overall, CIRNAC's year-to-date expenditures for the quarter ended September 30, 2023, was $6,412.9 million as compared to $4,471.7 million last year for the same period, representing an increase of $1,941.2 million. The variance can be mainly attributed to the following:

• An increase in operating expenditures due to the payment for the Gottfriedson Band Class Settlement Agreement (+$2,820 million)
• A decrease in Grants and Contributions expenditures (-$842 million). This is mostly related to the $234M decrease in payments for the comprehensive land claims and self-government agreements due to the timing of the payments.

See Table 1: Statement of Authorities and Table 2: Departmental Budgetary Expenditures by Standard Object for additional details.