The agency relies on IT infrastructure to deliver the majority of its programs. The member is correct in saying that as part of Budget 2010, there were some resources set aside by the government—in particular $251 million over nine years—for us in the agency to upgrade a 30-year-old system.
It is the key system that brings in $154 billion. It's the system used to deliver benefit cheques to Canadians. About $22 billion in benefits is issued every year to Canadians. This system supports that. In essence, the request that we have here for $6.2 million represents the first draw on the $251 million. So it's money that was planned by the government and has been set aside in the fiscal framework. It is also a work that we're undertaking in response to the OAG's 2010 report on aging government IT systems and the need to address this problem. In particular, the system that issues income tax refunds, employment insurance, and pension cheques was referenced as one of the key systems that needed to be upgraded. So this funding of $6 million is, in essence, our first draw on funding that had already been planned for in the fiscal framework.