Performance Reporting

Report on Results

Over the course of the past year, the ministry has worked toward achieving the following five goals that were detailed in our Service Plan 2003/04 – 2005/06. Collectively, they provide the strategic direction that guides all of our activities:

1. Implementing government's three-year fiscal plan and balancing the budget beginning in 2004/05.

2. Creating a tax and regulatory climate that stimulates economic growth.

3. Effective and efficient financial and risk management.

4. Comprehensive, timely and transparent financial and performance planning and reporting.

5. A progressive, innovative and knowledgeable workforce.

Each of these goals contributes directly to government's overall goal of a "strong and vibrant provincial economy". It is this foundation of economic growth and prosperity that ensures the sustainability of essential public services like health care and education, now and in the future.

Ministry Performance Linkages

The following section details progress the ministry has made towards achieving its goals and objectives and offers detailed information to evaluate our performance. Under each goal, information is provided on key strategies, supporting core business areas, rationales for the selection of each measure, comparisons of actual results versus intended targets and explanations for any variances.

It should be noted in reviewing the material that some performance measures while being important indicators of performance and successful outcome may be influenced by circumstances somewhat beyond the control or influence of the ministry (e.g., Debt to GDP ratio). Despite these limitations, the following information provides an important basis for evaluating our performance and is reflective of the ministry's commitment to transparency and continuous improvement.

		Goal 1: A strong and vibrant provincial economy

		Goal 1: Implementing government's three-year fiscal plan and balancing the budget beginning in 2004/05

		Goal 2: Creating a tax and regulatory climate that stimulates economic growth

		Goal 3: Effective and efficient financial and risk management

		Goal 4: Comprehensive, timely and transparent financial and performance planning and reporting

		Goal 5: A progressive, innovative and knowledgeable workforce

Other Program Initiatives

BC Family Bonus

The BC Family Bonus program includes the basic Family Bonus and the BC Earned Income Benefit. This program provides non-taxable amounts paid monthly to help low and modest income families with the cost of raising children under the age of 18. Benefits are based on the number of children in the family and family income. The program is administered by the Canada Revenue Agency on behalf of the province through the Canada Child Tax Benefit system. Benefits are combined with the Canada Child Tax Benefit into a single monthly payment for families.

Seismic Mitigation

The Seismic Mitigation Program was initiated to provide assistance to public agencies to improve the seismic safety of existing and future public buildings. The pilot project ended March 31, 2003 and current and future requirements are now being funded within the established annual operating and capital budgets for each agency. For example school district facilities are the responsibility of Ministry of Education and health care facilities are the responsibility of the Ministry of Health Services. Over the next three years, operating spending for non-structural and minor structural seismic upgrades to schools will be increased to $23 million by 2006/07. A further $50 million per year in capital spending will also be earmarked for major structural seismic upgrading beginning 2006/07 as part of a long-term plan.

Unclaimed Properties

The Unclaimed Properties program assists the public in locating and recovering their unclaimed financial property from both government and non-government bodies. On April 1, 2003 the ministry transferred the office to the non-profit British Columbia Unclaimed Properties Society. The first year of the transfer has been a success with considerable attention on the program, which has contributed to the recovery of $1,128,546 by 656 owners.

The Ministry of Finance has also managed the following votes on behalf of all government.

• Vote 41 — Management of Public Funds and Debt (debt servicing)

Spending for the year was $188 million below budget primarily due to the significantly improved fiscal outlook, lower than assumed interest rates and higher than expected cash balances at the beginning of the year. Savings in this vote allowed government to advance a number of priorities in other areas such as accelerating some of the government's commitments to the funding of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

• Vote 42 — Contingencies (all ministries) and New Programs:

Contingencies vote had a budget of $170 million for the year and of that approximately $107 million was utilized to provide funding for a number of unforeseen developments and priority initiatives. Some significant allocations that were funded from the contingencies vote during the year included trial costs within the Ministry of Attorney General for Air India, Pickton, and other cases. Other funding included unconditional grants in the Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services, funding for the missing persons investigation in Port Coquitlam, and interest related to protected areas compensation. As a result of prudent fiscal planning and management across government the contingencies vote was underspent by $63 million for the year.

• Vote 43 — Government Restructuring (all ministries)

The Ministry of Finance, in cooperation with the BC Public Service Agency and the BC Buildings Corporation, was responsible for overseeing the corporate restructuring fund which included a provision of $550 million over three years. Ministries had access to this funding to support their restructuring plans. Corporate funding for ministry restructuring initiatives ended on March 31, 2004.

Deregulation

The Ministry of Finance not only met, but also exceeded its 25 per cent reduction target for the deregulation initiative in 2003/04. As at March 31, 2004, the ministry realized a 31.8 per cent net reduction in regulatory requirements from June 5, 2001.

The following major projects completed in 2003/04 made a significant contribution to the ministry's success:

• amendments to the Manufactured Home Act and Miscellaneous Registrations Act, 1992 and regulations to streamline Registry processes by expanding electronic service delivery;
• bringing into force the new Business Corporations Act and regulation, which replaced the outdated Company Act and regulations, to eliminate regulatory overlap, enhance efficiency, and provide greater flexibility for companies;
• streamlining of government-wide financial management and general administrative procedures, resulting in the consolidation of the Financial Administration Procedures Manual and the Core Policy Manual, renamed the Core Policy and Procedures Manual.

In 2003/04, the ministry finalized development of the new Real Estate Services Act and Real Estate Development Marketing Act which, together, will replace the Real Estate Act when brought into force later this year, following the development of rules and regulations to support implementation. The Real Estate Services Act will reduce the regulatory burden on real estate licensees, and the Real Estate Development Marketing Act will reduce the regulatory burden on the real estate development sector in British Columbia.

The ministry also finalized major amendments to the Financial Institutions Act and the Credit Union Incorporation Act to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the regulation of the financial services sector. Once implemented, the real estate and financial services sector legislative projects will make a significant contribution to the ministry's regulatory reduction initiative.