Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity to appear before the committee to present the Canada Revenue Agency's 2010-11 supplementary estimates (B) and to answer any questions you may have.
I have with me this afternoon my associate, Mr. Filipe Dinis, the deputy assistant commissioner of finance and administration.
Mr. Chair, as you are aware, the CRA is responsible for the administration of federal and certain provincial and territorial programs, as well as for the delivery of a number of benefit payment programs. Through these supplementary estimates, the CRA is seeking funding for a new advertising initiative as well as the necessary resources to implement a number of legislative changes announced by the Minister of Finance in his last federal budget, the February 2010 budget.
First of all, the CRA is proposing to spend up to approximately $5 million on an advertising campaign to raise awareness among the Canadian public, particularly in Ontario and Quebec, of the involvement of organized crime in the manufacture and distribution of contraband cigarettes and the resulting loss in government revenues that support health and social services to Canadians. The objective of this campaign is to highlight the links between purchasing contraband cigarettes and organized crime, and thereby discourage the demand for this product.
Secondly, as occurs virtually every year, the CRA is seeking funding for the implementation of the measures included in the Minister of Finance's budget. This year we're seeking $15 million to implement the budget measures.
Although the CRA is seeking incremental funding of $20 million for the items I just mentioned, this increase is being offset by reductions of $19.2 million to amounts that are already available within the agency's votes, as well as the transfer of approximately $14.3 million to other departments.
These supplementary estimates are therefore displaying an overall net reduction of $13.5 million for the CRA's 2010-11 authorities, representing a decrease of 0.3% in the authorities granted by Parliament. Revised authorities for 2010-11 will therefore total $4.622 billion.
At this time, Mr. Dinis and I would be most happy to respond to any questions the committee may have.
Thank you.