Finance committee  We can provide some statistics. In fact, most recently our colleague Mr. Ralston, the chief financial officer, has been working very hard developing a methodology for unit costs that we can compare to see what the variation is in the unit costs. So we'll be able to provide some of that information.

Finance committee  You have caught me somewhat off guard. I thought returns were processed in both official languages in Jonquière as well.

Finance committee  There is no centralization model. What is happening is that there are some movements in the way in which the work is organized. You are probably referring to the consolidation of pay and compensation services in Winnipeg and Ottawa. We combined a number of former compensation sites and concentrated them in these two locations.

Finance committee  I think this approach actually proves our respect for taxpayers. That is a very important value. You refer to a change in procedure. We made the following decision. A taxpayer who goes into an office to discuss a problem and has to wait 30 minutes to see someone who cannot help him because he's not familiar with the particular area at issue, is badly served in our view.

Finance committee  Mr. Chairman, I would like to come back with the answer to that question later on, unless one of my colleagues has that information. I'm sorry. We can come back with the answer.

Finance committee  Personally, Mr. Chairman, I think with 25 million taxpayers and 44,000 people, there's bound to be problems. It's our job to manage the issues. I think what the committee may wish to look at is whether there has been improvement in the level of service and in the agency's efficiency.

Finance committee  There are a number of things in the question, Mr. Chairman. We do performance reports every year, and the Auditor General has qualified those performance reports as some of the best that are tabled in Parliament. So this is one piece of information, and Parliament obviously calls us regularly to examine the performance.

Finance committee  Absolutely.

Finance committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. With your permission, I had some prepared comments, which I would like to table with the committee, but rather than speak from that, I'd rather speak from the heart and be very brief with the committee and tell you a few things at the outset of this hearing.

Finance committee  To answer quickly, a number of measures were announced in the budget, and they were all implemented. All the acts of Parliament were implemented, and there is no special communication directed at one of these measures, with the exception that we worked with third parties and distributed information to business.

Finance committee  Thank you for those kind words. We don't get to hear those kinds of encouragements everyday. I'll be very pleased to pass them on to them. Thank you.

Finance committee  The human resources element is important. We do our own collective bargaining. We get our collective bargaining mandate from the board of management. I'm the negotiating partner with the union. We sign the agreement with them.

Finance committee  The legislation is not perfect. Certainly there are always ways to improve. But we figure that with five years of experience with this new model, it's a little early to recommend to the committee any specific changes. This is why we would like to encourage the committee to have another five-year review, which would be four years from now, as we implement the further changes and as we evolve.

Finance committee  John, do you want to answer that question?

Finance committee  The model is composed of three pillars. One is the board of management; there are 15 members. I'm the only civil servant on that board, as the CEO of the organization. All other members, by law, have to come from the private sector. Twelve members are nominated by provinces and territories, and they cannot be employees of the provinces; three members are nominated by the federal government, including the chair.