Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning and thank you for the opportunity to appear before the committee to present the Canada Revenue Agency's 2010-2011 supplementary estimates (C) and to answer any questions that you may have. Before I begin I would like to take a moment to int

Finance committee  Yes, Mr. Chair. I can confirm that the forecasts were developed by the Department of Finance. As you may know, at the CRA we're responsible for administrating the softwood lumber act, in conjunction with our partners at the Department of Foreign Affairs, and we work closely with

Finance committee  We were engaged in terms of administrating the softwood lumber act, but the forecasts actually come from the Department of Finance.

Finance committee  My understanding is that there are various factors that impact the estimation of the forecasts, including lumber prices and the demand for lumber. There are various other elements, such as any international settlements that are arrived at. All of these have an impact on the forec

Finance committee  In the past couple of years, our annual disbursements to the provinces have been around $180 million to $200 million. We recently shared with the committee that we were of the understanding that the Department of Finance was adjusting its forecasts. Based on current market condi

Finance committee  The Department of Finance scrutinizes the details. It has a handle on, as I understand, the market conditions, the demand, etc. From our perspective, we scrutinize, and there's an attestation of the costs before the disbursements are made to the provinces. There are certain costs

Finance committee  In terms of the details of administrative costs and legal costs, we do have them at the CRA, because we administer the program itself. In terms of the numbers themselves, we have them within the CRA, because we have to attest to those administrative costs.

Finance committee  I'll ask my colleague Mr. Case to add to this, but my understanding is that we're very much focused on implementing the Ontario HST and the British Columbia HST. Richard, do you want to add anything?

Finance committee  Regarding a number of provincial resources, we have entered into agreements with both provinces in terms of transferring expert resources into the CRA. The resources are going to join the agency in waves, if you will. The first wave occurred in November 2010. These are resources

Finance committee  In terms of the number of employees coming over, just to share with the committee, from the perspective of the Province of Ontario, we have an 80% take-up rate so far, and it's 99% in B.C. As to the settlements, that isn't something the CRA can speak to. It is a provincial matter

Finance committee  That's absolutely correct. This amount is intended for the implementation of the harmonization program. The amount also includes the portion we've just discussed, that is the salaries of provincial employees who will be coming to the agency. This is really for the implementation

Finance committee  Mr. Chairman, the member is clearly right. The title also refers to the operating budget, including pensions, etc. It's a generic title that we often use in supplementary estimates. There's nothing new on the Canada Pension Plan side.

Finance committee  Mr. Chairman, the Canada Revenue Agency is not responsible for assessing this arrangement. Discussions are underway, and they're really going on between the Department of Finance and the province of Quebec. As you know, we are responsible for administering the agreements between

Finance committee  To arrive at the $57 million figure, as you can see, a lot of work was done to validate the figures and to get approval. A large part of the $57 million will go to human resources, for experts who will come to the Canada Revenue Agency from provinces such as British Columbia and

Finance committee  If it's a program—