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Statement of management responsibility including internal control over financial reporting

Responsibility for the integrity and objectivity of the accompanying consolidated departmental financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2015, and all information contained in these statements rests with Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) management. These consolidated departmental financial statements have been prepared by management using the government's accounting policies, which are based on Canadian public sector accounting standards.

Management is responsible for the integrity and objectivity of the information in these consolidated departmental financial statements. Some of the information in the consolidated departmental financial statements is based on management's best estimates and judgment, and gives due consideration to materiality. To fulfill its accounting and reporting responsibilities, management maintains a set of accounts that provides a centralized record of PWGSC's financial transactions. Financial information submitted in the preparation of the Public Accounts of Canada, and included in PWGSC's Departmental Performance Report, is consistent with these consolidated departmental financial statements.

Management is also responsible for maintaining an effective system of internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance that financial information is reliable, that assets are safeguarded and that transactions are properly authorized and recorded in accordance with the Financial Administration Act and other applicable legislation, regulations, authorities and policies.

Management seeks to ensure the objectivity and integrity of data in its financial statements through careful selection, training, and development of qualified staff; through organizational arrangements that provide appropriate divisions of responsibility; through communication programs aimed at ensuring that regulations, policies, standards, and managerial authorities are understood throughout PWGSC and through conducting an annual risk-based assessment of the effectiveness of the system of internal control over financial reporting.

The system of internal control over financial reporting is designed to mitigate risks to a reasonable level based on an ongoing process to identify key risks, to assess effectiveness of associated key controls, and to make any necessary adjustments.

For the year ended March 31, 2015, a risk-based assessment of the system of internal control over financial reporting was completed in accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on Internal Control and the results and action plans are summarized in Annex A—Assessment of internal control over financial reporting.

The effectiveness and adequacy of PWGSC's system of internal control is reviewed by internal audit staff, who conduct periodic audits of different areas of PWGSC's operations.

PWGSC's Audit and Evaluation Committee has reviewed these consolidated departmental financial statements for the purpose of advising the Deputy Minister on any apparent material concerns. The role of this committee is to provide the Deputy Minister of PWGSC with objective advice and recommendations regarding the sufficiency, quality and results of assurance on the adequacy and functioning of PWGSC's risk management, control, and governance frameworks and processes. The Committee also provides advice on the oversight of core areas of departmental management, control and accountability, including financial reporting.

The consolidated departmental financial statements of PWGSC have not been audited.

George Da Pont
Deputy Minister
Gatineau, Canada
September 2, 2015

Alex Lakroni
Chief Financial Officer
Gatineau, Canada
September 2, 2015

Consolidated statement of financial position (unaudited)
As at March 31

(in thousands of dollars)

  2015 2014
Liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (note 5) 692,958 660,155
Vacation pay and compensatory leave 49,876 47,443
Other liabilities (note 6) 60,027 72,409
Seized property working capital account 12,206 731
Lease obligations for tangible capital assets (note 7) 2,538,186 2,418,853
Obligation under public private partnership (note 8) 139,537 141,062
Lease inducements 40,872 35,142
Employee future benefits (note 9) 72,727 54,320
Contingent and environmental liabilities (note 10) 315,848 153,768
Total net liabilities 3,922,237 3,583,883
Financial assets
Due from Consolidated revenue fund 497,708 453,072
Accounts receivable and advances (note 11) 341,491 352,910
Total gross financial assets 839,199 805,982
Financial assets held on behalf of Government
Accounts receivable and advances (note 11) (5,227) (4,857)
Total financial assets held on behalf of Government (5,227) (4,857)
Total net financial assets 833,972 801,125
Departmental net debt 3,088,265 2,782,758
Non-financial assets
Prepaid expenses 5,280 4,157
Inventory 0 176
Tangible capital assets (note 12) 6,338,333 6,113,070
Total non-financial assets 6,343,613 6,117,403
Departmental net financial position (note 13) 3,255,348 3,334,645

Contractual obligations (note 14)

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

George Da Pont
Deputy Minister
Gatineau, Canada
September 2, 2015

Alex Lakroni
Chief Financial Officer
Gatineau, Canada
September 2, 2015

Consolidated statement of operations and departmental net financial position (unaudited)
For the year ended March 31

(in thousands of dollars)

  2015
Planned results
2015 2014
Expenses
Accommodation and Real Property Services 3,648,516 3,916,040 3,895,101
Acquisitions 344,079 426,378 395,489
Federal Pay and Pension Administration 185,048 210,533 141,318
Internal Services 188,938 210,280 240,888
Linguistic Management and Services 192,876 177,317 181,969
Receiver General for Canada 123,141 141,925 151,672
Specialized Programs and Services 52,792 119,752 106,095
Integrity Programs and Services 36,552 32,782 35,980
Procurement Ombudsman 4,254 4,056 4,260
Total expenses 4,776,196 5,239,063 5,152,772
Revenues
Sales of goods and information products 1,056,227 1,087,855 1,219,660
Rentals 721,850 839,059 866,433
Services of a non-regulatory nature 386,667 459,357 405,053
Services of a regulatory nature 135,649 166,709 176,074
Other revenues 215,181 93,931 61,001
Revenue from Seized property proceeds account (note 13) 32,567 29,957 31,062
Revenues earned on behalf of Government (55,985) (98,131) (61,047)
Total revenues 2,492,156 2,578,737 2,698,236
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers 2,284,040 2,660,326 2,454,536
Government funding and transfers
Net cash provided by Government of Canada 2,659,110 2,843,595
Change in due from Consolidated revenue fund 44,636 (46,744)
Services provided without charge by other government departments (note 15) 61,182 64,418
Transfer of assets and liabilities from a dissolved Crown corporation (note 4) (150,255) 0
Transfer of tangible capital assets from other government departments (note 15) 20 187
Transfer of the transition payments for implementing salary payments in arrears (note 16) (33,664) 0
Net cost of operations after government funding and transfers 79,297 (406,920)
Departmental net financial position - beginning of year 3,334,645 2,927,725
Departmental net financial position - end of year 3,255,348 3,334,645

Segmented information (note 17)

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

Consolidated statement of change in departmental net debt (unaudited)
For the year ended March 31

(in thousands of dollars)

  2015 2014
Net cost of operations after government funding and transfers 79,297 (406,920)
Change due to tangible capital assets
Acquisitions of tangible capital assets (note 12) 588,199 602,535
Acquisitions of leased tangible capital assets (note 12) 285,045 336,873
Amortization of tangible capital assets (note 12) (391,643) (425,931)
Net loss on disposals / Adjustments of tangible capital assets (48,242) (33,241)
Reclassification of assets under construction (208,096) (164,688)
Change due to tangible capital assets 225,263 315,548
Change due to prepaid expenses 1,123 591
Change due to inventory (176) (565)
Net increase (decrease) in departmental net debt 305,507 (91,346)
Departmental net debt - beginning of year 2,782,758 2,874,104
Departmental net debt - end of year 3,088,265 2,782,758

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

Consolidated statement of cash flows (unaudited)
For the year ended March 31

(in thousands of dollars)

  2015 2014
Operating activities
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers 2,660,326 2,454,536
Non cash items:
Amortization of tangible capital assets (note 12) (391,643) (425,931)
Net loss on disposals / Adjustments of tangible capital assets (48,242) (33,241)
Reclassification of assets under construction (208,096) (164,688)
Services provided without charge by other government departments (note 15) (61,182) (64,418)
Transfer of the transition payments for implementing salary payments in arrears (note 16) 33,664 0
Variations in Consolidated statement of financial position:
Decrease (increase) in accounts payable and accrued liabilities (32,803) 47,464
Increase in vacation pay and compensatory leave (2,433) (13)
Decrease in other liabilities 12,382 9,947
Increase in lease inducements (5,730) (6,585)
Decrease (increase) in employee future benefits (18,407) 28,684
Decrease (increase) in contingent and environmental liabilities (162,080) 132,739
Decrease in accounts receivable and advances (11,789) (7,431)
Increase in Seized property working capital account (11,475) (36)
Increase in prepaid expenses 1,123 591
Decrease in inventory (176) (565)
Transfer of assets from other government departments (note 15) (20) (187)
Transfer of assets and liabilities from a dissolved Crown corporation (note 4) 150,255 0
Cash used in operating activities 1,903,674 1,970,866
Capital investing activities
Acquisitions of tangible capital assets (note 12) 588,199 602,535
Acquisitions of leased tangible capital assets (note 12) 285,045 336,873
Cash used in capital investing activities 873,244 939,408
Financing activities
Payments on lease obligations for tangible capital assets 152,024 208,469
New obligations/changes to lease obligations for tangible capital assets (271,357) (276,528)
Payments on obligation under Public Private Partnership 1,525 1,380
Cash used in financing activities (117,808) (66,679)
Net cash provided by Government of Canada 2,659,110 2,843,595

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

Notes to the consolidated financial statements (unaudited)
For the year ended March 31

1. Authority and objectives

The department of Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) was established effective June 20, 1996, under the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act. This legislation specifies that PWGSC shall provide common, central and shared services to other government departments and agencies, thereby enabling them to provide programs and services to Canadians. These services are delivered through the following programs:

2. Summary of significant accounting policies

These consolidated financial statements have been prepared using the government's accounting policies stated below, which are based on Canadian public sector accounting standards. The presentation and results using the stated accounting policies do not result in any significant differences from Canadian public sector accounting standards.

Significant accounting policies are as follows:

A. Parliamentary authorities

PWGSC is financed by the Government of Canada through Parliamentary authorities. Financial reporting of authorities provided to PWGSC does not parallel financial reporting according to Canadian generally accepted accounting principles since authorities are primarily based on cash flow requirements. Consequently, items recognized in the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position, and the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position are not necessarily the same as those provided through authorities from Parliament. Note 3 provides a high-level reconciliation between the two bases of reporting.

B. Consolidation

These consolidated financial statements include the accounts of four revolving funds as listed below, one of them being inactive. The three active revolving funds prepare a complete set of financial statements annually that are audited and published in the Public Accounts of Canada. The accounts of these revolving funds have been consolidated with those of PWGSC and intradepartmental balances and transactions have been eliminated.

The PWGSC revolving funds are as follows:

C. Planned results

The planned results amounts in the "Expenses" and "Revenues" sections of the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position are the amounts reported in the Future-Oriented Statement of Operations included in the 2014-15 Report on Plans and Priorities. Planned results are not presented in the "Government funding and transfers" section of the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position and in the Consolidated Statement of Change in Departmental Net Debt because these amounts were not included in the 2014-15 Report on Plans and Priorities.

D. Net cash provided by Government

PWGSC operates within the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), which is administered by the Receiver General for Canada. All cash received by PWGSC is deposited to the CRF and all cash disbursements made by PWGSC are paid from the CRF. The Net cash provided by Government of Canada, with the exception of amounts held on behalf of government, is the difference between all cash receipts and all cash disbursements including transactions between departments of the federal government.

E. Amounts due from the Consolidated revenue fund

These are the result of timing differences at year-end between when a transaction affects authorities and when it is processed through the CRF. Amounts due from the CRF represent the net amount of cash that PWGSC is entitled to draw from the CRF, without further authorities, in order to discharge its liabilities.

F. Revenues

Revenues are recorded on an accrual basis of accounting:

G. Expenses

Expenses are recorded on an accrual basis of accounting:

H. Employee future benefits

  1. Pension benefits: Eligible employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan, a multiemployer pension plan administered by the Government of Canada. PWGSC's contributions to the plan are charged to expenses in the year incurred and represent the total departmental obligation to the plan. PWGSC's responsibility with regard to the plan is limited to its contributions. Actuarial surpluses or deficiencies are recognized in the financial statements of the Government of Canada, as the plan's sponsor.
  2. Severance benefits: Employees entitled to severance benefits under labour contracts or conditions of employment earn these benefits as services necessary to earn them are rendered. The obligation relating to the benefits earned by employees is calculated using information derived from the results of the actuarially determined liability for employee severance benefits for the government as a whole.

I. Accounts receivable and advances

Accounts receivable and advances are stated at the lower of cost and net recoverable value; a valuation allowance is recorded for receivables where recovery is considered uncertain.

J. Lease inducements

Lease inducements represent incentives received by PWGSC to enter into a lease. Lease inducements include incentives such as: free rent, cash received to be applied to rent, lump sum cash, leasehold improvements and moving costs paid by the lessor. Lease inducements are accounted for as follows:

K. Contingent liabilities

Contingent liabilities are potential liabilities which may become actual liabilities when one or more future events occur or fail to occur. To the extent that the future event is likely to occur or fail to occur, and a reasonable estimate of the loss can be made, an estimated liability is accrued and an expense recorded. However, if the likelihood is not determinable or an amount can be reasonably estimated, the contingency is disclosed in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

L. Environmental liabilities

Environmental liabilities consist of estimated costs related to the remediation of contaminated sites as well as estimated costs related to obligations associated with the retirement of tangible capital assets and other environmental liabilities.

Contaminated sites: A liability for remediation of contaminated sites is recognized when all of the following criteria are satisfied: an environmental standard exists, contamination exceeds the environmental standard, the government is directly responsible or accepts responsibility, it is expected that future economic benefits will be given up and a reasonable estimate of the amount can be made. The liability reflects the government's best estimate of the amount required to remediate the sites to the current minimum standard for its use prior to contamination. When the cash flows required to settle or otherwise extinguish a liability are expected to occur over extended future periods, a present value technique is used. The discount rate applied is taken from the government's consolidated revenue fund monthly lending rates for periods of one year and over. The discount rates used are based on the term rate associated with the estimated number of years to complete remediation.

The recorded environmental liabilities are adjusted each year, as required, for present value adjustments, inflation, new obligations, changes in management estimates and actual costs incurred

M. Inventory

Inventory held for resale consists of physical items that will be sold in the future in the ordinary course of business to parties outside of the government reporting entity. Inventory held for re-sale is measured at the lower of cost or net realizable value.

N. Tangible capital assets

Tangible capital assets are recorded at their acquisition cost, and the following is the capitalization threshold for tangible capital assets:

PWGSC does not capitalize intangibles and non-operational heritage assets such as: works of art and historical treasures that have cultural, aesthetic or historical value; immovable assets located on Indian Reserves; or museum collections.

Amortization of tangible capital assets is done on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of each asset as follows:

Asset class Amortization period
Buildings 20 to 40 years
Works and infrastructure 20 to 40 years
Machinery and equipment 3 to 20 years
Informatics hardware and software 1 to 10 years
Vehicles 3 to 25 years
Leasehold improvements Lesser of the remaining term of the lease or useful life of
the improvement
Leased tangible capital assets In accordance with asset class if ownership is likely to transfer to PWGSC; otherwise, over the lease term

Assets under construction are recorded in the applicable capital asset class in the year that they become available for use and are not amortized until they become available for use.

O. Seized property working capital account

The Seized Property Working Capital Account was established pursuant to section 12 of the Seized Property Management Act. Expenses incurred, and advances made, to maintain and manage any seized or restrained property and other properties subject to a management order or forfeited to Her Majesty, are charged to this account. The Seized Property Working Capital Account is credited when expenses and advances to third parties are repaid or recovered and when revenues from these properties or proceeds of their disposal are received and credited with seized cash upon forfeiture.

The total amount authorized to be outstanding at any time is $50,000,000.

Any shortfall between the proceeds from the disposition of any property forfeited to Her Majesty and the amounts that were charged to this account and that are still outstanding, is charged to a Seized Property Proceeds Account and credited to the Seized Property Working Capital Account.

P. Measurement uncertainty

The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses reported in the consolidated financial statements. At the time of preparation of these consolidated statements, management believes the estimates and assumptions to be reasonable. The most significant items where estimates are used are the allowance for doubtful accounts, contingent liabilities, environmental liabilities, accounts receivable held on behalf of government, the liability for vacation pay and compensatory leave, the liability for employee future benefits and the useful life of tangible capital assets. Actual results could significantly differ from those estimated. Management's estimates are reviewed periodically and as adjustments become necessary, they are recorded in the consolidated financial statements in the year they become known.

3. Parliamentary authorities

PWGSC receives most of its funding through annual parliamentary authorities. Items recognized in the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position and the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position in one year may be funded through parliamentary authorities in prior, current or future years. Accordingly, PWGSC has different net results of operations for the year on a government funding basis than on an accrual accounting basis. The differences are reconciled in the following tables:

A. Reconciliation of net cost of operations to current year authorities used

(in thousands of dollars)

  2015 2014
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers 2,660,326 2,454,536
Adjustments for items affecting net cost of operations but not affecting authorities:
Amortization of tangible capital assets (note 12) (391,643) (425,931)
Net loss on disposals / Adjustments of tangible capital assets (48,242) (33,241)
Reclassification of assets under construction (208,096) (164,688)
Services provided without charge by other government departments (note 15) (61,182) (64,418)
Refunds / Adjustments to previous years' expenses 21,971 23,801
Revenues not available for spending in the current year (16,006) 4,946
Increase in lease inducements (5,730) (6,585)
Net revenue from Seized property proceeds account (note 13) 20,449 13,169
Increase in vacation pay and compensatory leave (2,433) (13)
Decrease (increase) in employee future benefits (note 9) (18,407) 28,684
Decrease (increase) in contingent and environmental liabilities (note 10) (162,080) 132,739
Transfer of assets and liabilities from a dissolved Crown corporation (note 4) 150,255 0
Other 26,459 11,334
Subtotal of adjustments for items affecting net cost of operations but not affecting authorities (694,685) (480,203)
Adjustments for items not affecting net cost of operations but affecting authorities:
Acquisitions of tangible capital assets (note 12) 588,199 602,535
Acquisitions of leased tangible capital assets (note 12) 285,045 336,873
Increase in lease obligations for tangible capital assets (119,333) (68,059)
Decrease in obligation under Public private partnership 1,525 1,380
Transfer of the transition payments for implementing salary payments in arrears (note 16) 33,664 0
Increase in prepaid expenses 1,123 591
Decrease in inventory (176) (565)
Subtotal of adjustments for items not affecting net cost of operations but affecting authorities 790,047 872,755
Current year authorities used 2,755,688 2,847,088

B. Authorities provided and used

(in thousands of dollars)

  2015 2014
Vote 1 - Operating expenditures 1,720,910 2,163,396
Vote 5 - Capital expenditures 1,158,490 691,151
Statutory items:
Revolving Funds 370,884 362,002
Other 107,629 112,695
Authorities provided 3,357,913 3,329,244
Less:
Authorities available for future years (350,127) (367,582)
Lapsed authorities (240,623) (114,538)
Current year budgetary authorities used 2,767,163 2,847,124
Seized Property Management Act (11,475) (36)
Current year authorities used 2,755,688 2,847,088

4. Dissolution of a Crown corporation

On March 19, 2014, the Government of Canada announced the dissolution of Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation (ECBC). Following the Budget Implementation Act enacted on June 19, 2014, ECBC's real property holdings, as well their contingent and environmental obligations, were assumed by PWGSC. As such, the assets and liabilities of the former ECBC have been recognized in PWGSC's Consolidated Statement of Financial Position as follows (in thousands of dollars):

  2015
Liabilities
Accounts payable 1,016
Vacation pay and compensatory leave 38
Lease inducements 742
Contingent and environmental liabilities 159,490
Total liabilities 161,286
Assets
Accounts receivable and advances 5,427
Prepaid expenses 989
Tangible capital assets 4,615
Total assets 11,031
Total liabilities and assets 150,255

5. Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

The following table presents details of PWGSC's accounts payable and accrued liabilities (in thousands of dollars):

  2015 2014
Accounts payable - other government departments and agencies 40,455 44,168
Accounts payable - external parties 324,273 300,656
Total accounts payable 364,728 344,824
Accrued salaries and wages 57,540 22,950
Accrued liabilities 202,320 230,508
Contractors' holdbacks 68,370 61,873
Total accounts payable and accrued liabilities 692,958 660,155

6. Other liabilities

Seized property - cash

This account was established pursuant to the Seized Property Management Act, to record seized cash. These funds will be deposited to the Consolidated Revenue Fund and credited to the account until returned to the owner or forfeited.

Contractors' security deposits - cash and bonds

This account was established to record contractors' security deposits that are required for the satisfactory performance of work in accordance with the Government Contracts Regulations.

Deposits

This account was established to report transactions associated with deposits on disposals for PWGSC, security deposits and revenues of leased space belonging to PWGSC.

The following table presents details of other liabilities (in thousands of dollars):

  April 1, 2014 Receipts and credits Payments and charges March 31, 2015
Seized property - cash 67,229 186,276 (198,832) 54,673
Contractors' security deposits - cash 4,160 3,743 (3,481) 4,422
Contractors' security deposits - bonds 750 0 0 750
Deposits 270 12,934 (13,022) 182
Total 72,409 202,953 (215,335) 60,027

7. Lease obligations for tangible capital assets

PWGSC has entered into capital lease agreements for tangible capital assets (including assets under construction (AUC)) with a cost of $2,676,517,813 and accumulated amortization of $967,863,481 as at March 31, 2015 ($2,499,993,512 and $920,809,525 respectively as at March 31, 2014). The obligations for upcoming years include the following (in thousands of dollars):

  Total future minimum lease payments Imputed interest
(weighted average 5.6%; 5.5% in 2014)
2015 2014
Land 7,027 1,494 5,533 6,337
Buildings and AUC 3,965,423 1,432,770 2,532,653 2,412,516
Total 3,972,450 1,434,264 2,538,186 2,418,853

The following table presents the future minimum lease payments (in thousands of dollars):

  2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 and thereafter Total
Land 1,382 1,382 1,382 1,382 1,382 117 7,027
Buildings and AUC 293,636 319,175 263,006 277,586 224,210 2,587,810 3,965,423
Total 295,018 320,557 264,388 278,968 225,592 2,587,927 3,972,450

8. Obligation under public private partnership

PWGSC entered into a Public Private Partnership agreement for the construction and management of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) E Division building. Construction of the building was completed in 2013 and the cost of $294,657,316 was capitalized during the same year. The building was funded by a private partner ($142,797,000) and PWGSC ($151,860,316). The obligations for upcoming years include the following (in thousands of dollars):

  Total future minimum payments Imputed interest (10.52%) 2015 2014
Building 355,074 215,537 139,537 141,062
Total 355,074 215,537 139,537 141,062

The following table presents the future payments (in thousands of dollars):

  2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 and thereafter Total
Building 15,624 15,624 15,624 15,624 15,624 276,954 355,074
Total 15,624 15,624 15,624 15,624 15,624 276,954 355,074

9. Employee future benefits

A. Pension benefits

PWGSC employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan (the "Plan"), which is sponsored and administered by the Government of Canada. Pension benefits accrue up to a maximum period of 35 years at a rate of 2 percent per year of pensionable service, times the average of the best five consecutive years of earnings. The benefits are integrated with Canada/Quebec Pension Plan benefits and they are indexed to inflation.

Both the employees and the department contribute to the cost of the Plan. Due to the amendment of the Public Service Superannuation Act following the implementation of provisions related to Economic Action Plan 2012, employee contributors have been divided into two groups - Group 1 relates to existing plan members as of December 31, 2012 and Group 2 relates to members joining the Plan as of January 1, 2013. Each group has a distinct contribution rate.

The 2014-15 expense amounts to $102,673,369 ($111,300,811 in 2014). For Group 1 members, the expense represents approximately 1.41 times (1.60 times in 2014) the employee contributions and, for Group 2 members, approximately 1.39 times (1.50 times in 2014) the employee contributions.

PWGSC's responsibility with regard to the Plan is limited to its contributions. Actuarial surpluses or deficiencies are recognized in the consolidated financial statements of the Government of Canada, as the Plan's sponsor.

B. Severance benefits

PWGSC provides severance benefits to its employees based on eligibility, years of service and salary at termination of employment. These severance benefits are not pre-funded. Benefits will be paid from future authorities and revolving funds.

Commencing in 2012, as part of collective agreement negotiations with certain employee groups, and changes to conditions of employment for executives and certain non-represented employees, the accumulation of severance benefits under the employee severance pay program ceased for these employees. Employees subject to these changes have been given the option to be immediately paid the full or partial value of benefits earned to date or to collect the full or remaining value of benefits on termination from the public service. These changes have been reflected in the calculation of the outstanding severance benefit obligation.

The obligation relating to the benefits earned by employees is calculated using information derived from the results of the actuarially determined liability for employee severance benefits for the government as a whole.

Information about the severance benefits, measured as at March 31 is as follows (in thousands of dollars):

  2015 2014
Accrued benefit obligation, beginning of year 54,320 83,004
Expense 34,466 28,877
Benefits paid during the year (16,059) (57,561)
Accrued benefit obligation, end of year 72,727 54,320

10. Contingent and environmental liabilities

Contingent liabilities arise in the normal course of operations and their ultimate disposition is unknown. The recorded amount of $315,848,213 ($153,768,080 in 2014) is composed of $1,298,500 ($34,196,543 in 2014) for claims and litigation and $314,549,713 ($119,571,537 in 2014) for contaminated sites.

A. Claims and litigation

Claims have been made against PWGSC in the normal course of operations. These claims include items with pleading amounts and others for which no amount is specified. While the total amount claimed in these actions is significant, their outcomes are not determinable. PWGSC has recorded an allowance amounting to $1,298,500 ($34,196,543 in 2014) for claims and litigations where it is likely that there will be a future payment and a reasonable estimate of the loss can be made. A liability has not been recorded for claims and litigations for which the outcome is not determinable. Management estimates these amounts to be $24,285,275 ($55,413,242 in 2014) at March 31, 2015.

B. Remediation of contaminated sites

The government has developed a "Federal Approach to Contaminated Sites", which incorporates a risk-based approach to the management of contaminated sites. Under this approach the government has inventoried the contaminated sites (Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory (FCSI)) on federal lands that have been identified, allowing them to be classified, managed and recorded in a consistent manner. This systematic approach aids in the identification of the high risk sites in order to allocate limited resources to those sites which pose the highest risk to the environment and human health.

The department has identified approximately 129 sites (127 sites in 2014) where contamination may exist and assessment, remediation and monitoring may be required. Of these, the department has identified 59 sites (66 sites in 2014) where action is possible and for which a net liability of $314,549,713 ($119,571,537 in 2014) has been recorded. This liability represents management's best estimate of the amount required to complete the remediation of the sites to the current minimum standard for its use prior to contamination, based on information available at the financial statement date. A net present value technique has been used for sites where the cash flows are expected to occur over extended future periods.

The following table presents the total estimated amounts of these liabilities by nature and source and the total undiscounted future expenditures as at March 31, 2015, and March 31, 2014. When the liability estimate is based on a future cash requirement, the Government of Canada lending rate applicable to loans with similar terms to maturity has been used to discount the estimated future expenditures. The March 2015 rates range from 0.61% for a 2-year term to 2.12% for a 25-year term or greater.

Nature and source Number of sites 2015 Discounted estimated liability 2015
(in thousands of dollars)
Estimated total undiscounted expenditures 2015
(in thousands of dollars)
Number of sites 2014 Discounted estimated liability 2014
(in thousands of dollars)
Estimated total undiscounted expenditures 2014
(in thousands of dollars)
Former mineral exploration sites Footnote 1 53 Footnote 9 154,686 210,481 0 0 0
Military & former military sites Footnote 2 27 3,257 3,301 33 3,414 3,459
Fuel related practices Footnote 3 6 1,659 1,659 5 1,449 1,449
Landfill/Waste sites Footnote 4 3 11,281 11,460 3 11,163 11,167
Engineered asset/Air & land transportation Footnote 5 50 139,551 142,757 46 93,878 96,587
Marine facilities/Aquatic sites Footnote 6 10 0 0 10 0 0
Parks & protected areas Footnote 7 1 0 0 2 0 0
Office/Commercial/Industrial operations Footnote 8 32 4,116 4,182 28 9,667 9,677
Totals 182 314,550 373,840 127 119,571 122,339

Of the remaining 70 sites, 19 sites were closed, as they were either remediated or assessed and found not to be contaminated. There are 51 sites for which an estimated liability has not been determined, primarily due to the fact that the sites are not yet fully assessed and contamination has not yet been determined or they have not developed a detailed remediation plan. As the sites are assessed, if contamination is found, and it exceeds the environmental standard, a liability will be recognized as soon as a reasonable estimate can be made.

Of the 51 sites that do not have liabilities, 7 are considered high priority for action because they present a higher risk to human health and the environment. These sites are at various stages of testing and evaluation in order to develop a remediation or risk management strategy.  Liabilities will be reported as soon as a reasonable estimate can be determined. Eighteen are considered medium to low priority based on the low level of risk to human health or the environment. Assessment and remediation will be done on these sites as resources become available. One site is not yet classified because it is only at the initial testing stages and contamination has not yet been determined. Eight sites are not considered a priority for action because information indicates there is likely no significant environmental impact or human health threats and there is likely no need for action unless new information becomes available indicating greater concern, in which case, the site will be re-examined. Seventeen sites currently have insufficient information in order to classify them. Additional information is required to classify the sites but is not available at this time. As additional information becomes available the sites will be re-examined.

11. Accounts receivable and advances

The following table presents details of PWGSC's accounts receivable and advances (in thousands of dollars):

  2015 2014
Accounts receivable - other government departments and agencies 248,400 271,072
Accounts receivable - external parties 97,665 86,149
Advances 70 87
Subtotal accounts receivable and advances 346,135 357,308
Less: allowance for doubtful accounts on receivables from external parties (4,644) (4,398)
Gross accounts receivable and advances 341,491 352,910
Accounts receivable held on behalf of Government (5,227) (4,857)
Net accounts receivable and advances 336,264 348,053

12. Tangible capital assets

(in thousands of dollars)

  Cost
Opening balance Acquisitions Adjustments Disposals and write-offs Closing balance
Tangible capital assets
Land 260,433 0 4,287 (17,376) 247,344
Buildings 4,943,558 0 122,338 (76,878) 4,989,018
Works and infrastructure 1,139,918 0 49,100 (608) 1,188,410
Machinery and equipment 22,602 114 892 0 23,608
Informatics hardware and software 341,872 4,080 66,705 (78) 412,579
Vehicles 10,343 619 98 (456) 10,604
Leasehold improvements 923,270 0 61,760 (79,805) 905,225
Subtotal tangible capital assets 7,641,996 4,813 305,180 (175,201) 7,776,788
Assets under construction
Buildings 891,983 411,779 (320,226) 0 983,536
Works and infrastructure 70,163 63,864 (47,984) 0 86,043
Informatics hardware and software 187,364 89,695 (89,107) 0 187,952
Leasehold improvements 82,130 18,048 (46,119) 0 54,059
Subtotal assets under construction 1,231,640 583,386 (503,436) 0 1,311,590
Public private partnership
Building 294,657 0 0 0 294,657
Subtotal public private partnership 294,657 0 0 0 294,657
Leased tangible capital assets
Land 39,058 0 0 0 39,058
Buildings 2,368,769 271,472 77,071 (94,943) 2,622,369
Assets under construction 92,166 13,573 (90,649) 0 15,090
Subtotal leased tangible capital assets 2,499,993 285,045 (13,578) (94,943) 2,676,517
Total 11,668,286 873,244 (211,834) (270,144) 12,059,552
Accumulated amortization Net book value
Opening balance Amortization Adjustments Disposals and write-offs Closing balance 2015 2014
Tangible capital assets
Land 247,344 260,433
Buildings 3,382,657 94,159 2,929 (71,165) 3,408,580 1,580,438 1,560,901
Works and infrastructure 487,463 42,705 0 (481) 529,687 658,723 652,455
Machinery and equipment 7,999 1,242 97 0 9,338 14,270 14,603
Informatics hardware and software 210,006 42,811 25 (78) 252,764 159,815 131,866
Vehicles 6,626 845 66 (424) 7,113 3,491 3,717
Leasehold improvements 524,924 63,705 577 (69,851) 519,355 385,870 398,346
Subtotal tangible capital assets 4,619,675 245,467 3,694 (141,999) 4,726,837 3,049,951 3,022,321
Assets under construction
Buildings 983,536 891,983
Works and infrastructure 86,043 70,163
Informatics hardware and software 187,952 187,364
Leasehold improvements 54,059 82,130
Subtotal assets under construction 1,311,590 1,231,640
Public private partnership
Building 14,732 11,786 0 0 26,518 268,139 279,925
Subtotal public private partnership 14,732 11,786 0 0 26,518 268,139 279,925
Leased tangible capital assets
Land 39,058 39,058
Buildings 920,809 134,390 565 (87,900) 967,864 1,654,505 1,447,960
Assets under construction 0 0 0 0 0 15,090 92,166
Subtotal leased tangible capital assets 920,809 134,390 565 (87,900) 967,864 1,708,653 1,579,184
Total 5,555,216 391,643 4,259 (229,899) 5,721,219 6,338,333 6,113,070

13. Departmental net financial position

A portion of PWGSC's net financial position is restricted and earmarked for specified purposes.

The Seized Property Proceeds Account was established pursuant to section 13 of the Seized Property Management Act. The net proceeds received from the disposition of seized and forfeited properties to Her Majesty or fines imposed and also funds received from the governments of foreign states pursuant to agreements for the purpose of the Act are to be earmarked for specified purposes. Under the Act, expenses to be charged against the revenues include: operating expenses incurred in carrying out the purpose of the Act, amounts paid as a result of claims and repayments of advances from the Minister of Finance, interest on the drawdown from the Seized Property Working Capital Account and distribution of the proceeds to the relevant jurisdictions and the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Related revenues and expenses are included in the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position.

Activity in the account is as follows (in thousands of dollars):

  2015 2014
Seized property proceeds account - restricted
Balance - beginning of year - restricted 39,419 52,588
Revenues 29,957 31,062
Expenses (50,406) (44,231)
Subtotal of Seized property proceeds account - restricted (20,449) (13,169)
Balance - end of year - restricted 18,970 39,419
Unrestricted 3,236,378 3,295,226
Departmental net financial position - end of year 3,255,348 3,334,645

14. Contractual obligations

The nature of PWGSC's activities can result in some large multi-year contracts and obligations whereby the department will be obligated to make future payments when the services/goods are received.

Significant contractual obligations ($10 million or more) that can be reasonably estimated are summarized as follows (in thousands of dollars):

  2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 and thereafter Total
Capital assets 386,228 245,441 65,358 3,951 0 700,978
Capital assets - future capital leases 2,456 6,861 10,157 8,107 152,247 179,828
Operating leases 285,648 277,882 249,122 219,533 850,295 1,882,480
Purchases 1,671,969 1,596,072 1,560,574 1,445,902 6,235,488 12,510,005
Purchases - future capital leases 2,126 4,125 4,597 5,087 105,334 121,269
Total 2,348,427 2,130,381 1,889,808 1,682,580 7,343,364 15,394,560

15. Related party transactions

PWGSC is related as a result of common ownership to all government departments, agencies and Crown corporations of Canada. PWGSC enters into transactions with these entities in the normal course of business and on normal trade terms. During the year, PWGSC received and provided common services which were obtained without charge from/to other government departments as disclosed below.

A. Common services provided without charge by other government departments

During the year, PWGSC received services without charge from certain common service organizations related to legal services, the employer's contribution to the health and dental insurance plans and workers' compensation coverage. These services provided without charge have been recorded in PWGSC's Consolidated Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position as follows (in thousands of dollars):

  2015 2014
Employer's contribution to the health and dental insurance plans (excluding revolving funds) paid by Treasury Board 54,425 57,315
Legal services provided by Justice Canada 4,512 4,570
Workers' compensation coverage provided by Employment and Social Development Canada 2,245 2,533
Total 61,182 64,418

The government has centralized some of its administrative activities for efficiency, cost-effectiveness and economic delivery of programs to the public. As a result, the government uses central agencies and common service organizations so that one department performs services for all other departments and agencies without charge. The costs of these services, such as the audit services provided by the Office of the Auditor General and information technology services provided by Shared Services Canada are not included in PWGSC's Consolidated Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position.

B. Common services provided without charge to other government departments

As a federal common service provider, PWGSC provides accommodation without charge to other government departments. Throughout the fiscal year, PWGSC provided accommodation without charge to other government departments for a fair value amounting to $1,547,442,176 ($1,551,628,518 in 2014). These accommodation services are not recognized as revenues in the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position.

C. Other transactions with related parties

(in thousands of dollars)

  2015 2014
Accounts receivable - other government departments and agencies 248,400 271,072
Accounts payable - other government departments and agencies 40,455 44,168
Consolidated expenses - other government departments and agencies (67,546) (39,864)
Consolidated revenues - other government departments and agencies 2,194,094 2,340,279

Expenses and revenues disclosed above exclude common services provided without charge, which are already disclosed in note 15A.

D. Transfers of tangible capital assets from/to other government departments

During the year, tangible capital assets were received from other federal government departments or agencies. The transfers were measured at their net book values (in thousands of dollars).

  2015 2014
Employment and Social Development Canada 0 19
Health Canada 20 (16)
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Canada 0 192
Transport Canada 0 (8)
Total 20 187

16. Transfer of the transition payments for implementing salary payments in arrears

The Government of Canada implemented salary payments in arrears in 2014-15. As a result, a one-time payment of $33,664,449 was issued to employees and will be recovered from them in the future. The transition to salary payments in arrears forms part of the transformation initiative that replaces the pay system and also streamlines and modernizes the pay processes. This change to the pay system had no impact on the expenses of PWGSC. However, it did result in the use of additional spending authorities by PWGSC. Prior to year end, the transition payments for implementing salary payments in arrears were transferred to a central account administered by PWGSC, which is responsible for the administration of the government pay system. The transferred amounts are not included in PWGSC's consolidated financial statements because the central account is not controlled by PWGSC.

17. Segmented information

Presentation by segment is based on PWGSC's program alignment architecture. The presentation by segment is based on the same accounting policies as described in the Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in Note 2. The following table presents the expenses incurred and revenues generated by program, by major object of expense, and by major type of revenue. The segmented results for the period are as follows (in thousands of dollars):

  Accommodation and Real Property Services Acquisitions Internal Services Federal Pay and Pension Administration Linguistic Management and Services Receiver General for Canada Specialized Programs and Services Integrity Programs and Services Procurement Ombudsman Intra-departmental transactions 2015 2014
Expenses
Transfer payments
Payments in lieu of taxes to municipalities and other taxing authorities on behalf of other departments 549,406 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 549,406 535,348
Recovery from other departments for payments in lieu of taxes (549,406) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (549,406) (535,309)
Subtotal of transfer payments 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 39
Operating expenses
Salaries and employee benefits 381,620 185,251 277,775 123,073 120,261 29,439 42,984 29,683 3,247 (351) 1,192,982 1,183,078
Rentals 1,001,294 1,815 6,151 1,149 8,858 208 22,316 1,134 22 (38,721) 1,004,226 1,005,237
Repairs and maintenance 779,742 7 1,767 710 475 729 1,493 91 2 (5,821) 779,195 866,333
Professional and special services 705,497 52,176 101,042 44,036 29,282 3,204 32,338 9,169 643 (363,482) 613,905 517,157
Amortization of tangible capital assets 346,686 16 6,703 33,459 3,164 922 661 32 0 0 391,643 425,931
Utilities, materials and supplies 102,554 155,599 1,334 463 169 3,207 248 229 14 (18,993) 244,824 222,753
Land, buildings and works Footnote * 208,475 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 208,475 346,539
Reclassification of assets under construction 208,096 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 208,096 164,688
Payments in lieu of taxes to municipalities 183,947 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 183,947 179,398
Interest on capital lease payments 141,286 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 141,286 141,166
Transportation and communications 14,291 2,668 2,586 4,417 1,355 41,387 9,821 728 40 (1,739) 75,554 73,908
Machinery and equipment Footnote * 41,932 291 10,109 983 539 90 8,227 385 20 (4,216) 58,360 50,268
Interest and banking fees 1,729 4 4 3 9 55,437 1 0 0 0 57,187 54,397
Expenses from Seized property proceeds account (note 13) 0 50,406 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 50,406 44,231
Information 3,663 479 1,201 649 326 579 8,584 17 68 (922) 14,644 12,874
Interest on obligation under Public private partnership 14,099 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14,099 14,244
Other expenses 186,785 5,543 (32,953) 1,741 58,190 6,943 4,264 796 0 (231,075) 234 (149,469)
Intradepartmental transactions (405,656) (27,877) (165,439) (150) (45,311) (220) (11,185) (9,482) 0 665,320 0 0
Consolidated expenses 3,916,040 426,378 210,280 210,533 177,317 141,925 119,752 32,782 4,056 0 5,239,063 5,152,772
Revenues
Sales of goods and information products 1,124,630 390 0 0 0 0 2,032 0 0 (39,197) 1,087,855 1,219,660
Rentals 867,908 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (28,849) 839,059 866,433
Services of a non-regulatory nature 76,917 257,554 152,334 0 158,410 570 71,192 21,937 0 (279,557) 459,357 405,053
Services of a regulatory nature 6,724 0 628 128,507 0 23,832 13,135 0 0 (6,117) 166,709 176,074
Other revenues 320,334 33,077 19,539 20,468 7,239 16 2,386 2,472 0 (311,600) 93,931 61,001
Revenues from Seized property proceeds account (note 13) 0 29,957 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 29,957 31,062
Revenues earned on behalf of Government (55,493) (10,873) (4,149) (20,611) (43) (699) (3,791) (2,472) 0 0 (98,131) (61,047)
Intradepartmental transactions (405,656) (27,877) (165,439) (150) (45,311) (220) (11,185) (9,482) 0 665,320 0 0
Consolidated revenues 1,935,364 282,228 2,913 128,214 120,295 23,499 73,769 12,455 0 0 2,578,737 2,698,236
Net cost from operations 1,980,676 144,150 207,367 82,319 57,022 118,426 45,983 20,327 4,056 0 2,660,326 2,454,536

Services of a non-regulatory nature are mainly comprised of special accommodation and real property services, real property project management services, translation services, as well as freight services, material transportation and travel procurement.

Services of a regulatory nature are mainly comprised of cost recovery for services provided to administer the Public Service Superannuation Act (PSSA) and for payment services for Receiver General functions.

18. Comparative information

Comparative figures have been reclassified to conform to the current year's presentation.

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