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Bill C-295

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SUMMARY

The purpose of this enactment is to improve the conduct of fiscal policy by specifying principles of responsible fiscal management and by strengthening the reporting requirements of the Crown and, in particular

    (a) by requiring the Minister of Finance to report regularly to the House of Commons on the extent to which the Government's fiscal policy is consistent with the specified principles of responsible fiscal management and to justify in his or her report any departures made by the Government from those principles;

    (b) by requiring all the Crown's financial reporting to be in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices; and

    (c) by requiring the Minister of Finance

      (i) to publish, at least 3 months before the start of each fiscal year, a budget policy statement containing the Government's long-term objectives for fiscal policy, its broad strategic priorities for the budget for that fiscal year, and its fiscal intentions for that and the next two fiscal years,

      (ii) to lay before the House of Commons, on the day on which the first appropriation bill relating to a fiscal year is introduced, a fiscal strategy report assessing the consistency of the budget with the budget policy statement and providing progress outlooks for the next ten years, and an economic and fiscal update prepared by Treasury Board for the next three years,

      (iii) to publish, in December of each fiscal year, an economic and fiscal update prepared by Treasury Board for the next three years,

      (iv) to publish, before each general election, an economic and fiscal update prepared by Treasury Board for the next three years, and

      (v) to lay before the House of Commons, towards the end of each fiscal year, a fiscal update prepared by Treasury Board for that year, including forecast estimated actual financial statements for the Crown.