Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I want to conclude on your last comment on how encouraged you are that Mr. Yeo was able to apply to the ministry, and how that is a good use of taxpayer dollars.
I actually agree with you here, Mr. Matthews, and it's actually evidenced in paragraph 1.30, page 8, of the Auditor General's report, as follows:
We performed an analysis to identify potential cost savings if the agency had reduced its reliance on external resources over time. We estimated that the average per diem cost for the ArriveCAN external resources was $1,090, whereas the average daily cost for equivalent IT positions in the Government of Canada was $675.
That includes Dalian, which was contracted to the Department of National Defence for some time.
How you're actually going to create an environment for workers to want to apply to your ministry is my question. If your intent is to reduce the vulnerability of the Department of National Defence in relation to malicious actors like Dalian, and if it's your proposal to use employment within the public service as a tool to reduce not only inefficiencies but also to reduce costs, I applaud that too, Mr. Matthews. What I don't applaud is the fact that it's not happening in your ministry.
Right now Non-Public Funds workers are on strike. They've been on strike for two months. Are you aware of this?