Ottawa is looking for annual savings of $3 billion a year thanks to continued spending review, the government said in its budget Tuesday.

A spending review announced in last year’s budget found $1 billion that can be reallocated to higher priorities in the coming fiscal year, the government said. So Ottawa is going back into its myriad of programs, departments, agencies and Crown corporations looking for more savings. It hopes to able to report savings of $3 billion a year in four years.

The savings will be reinvested in high-priority programs, including investments in modern public management. But Finance Minister Ralph Goodale cautioned that the savings will not be reinvested until they have actually been realized.

The Martin government set up a cabinet committee on expenditure review upon taking office in December.

In the wake of the ongoing scandal over sponsorship programs of the Chrétien government, the budget also announced several measures to strengthen financial management. Ottawa is re-establishing the Office of the Comptroller General to oversee government spending. Ironically, this office had been abolished in the early 1990s as a cost-cutting measure. The government also plans to appoint professionally accredited comptrollers to sign off on all new spending initiatives in every department. Also on the way are stronger internal auditing and new corporate governance rules for Crown corporations.

In addition, Ottawa is planning disclosure of five-year audits that the auditor general performs on Crown corporations and automatic electronic disclosure of every contract the government signs over $10,000 with limited exceptions such as national security.