In addition to the numbers, I would also like to see some evidence of this. After all, my name is Thomas. I tend to be rather skeptical when all I see is men. That often seems to be the case at the Department of Finance.
My first question is for you, Mr. Miller. In your opening statement, you listed the department's responsibilities, specifically, the formulation of policies, tax and tariff laws. Because this is closely related to requests that you make, is there a policy that the public could consult to find out when tariff increases are allowed?
You know as well as I do that you formulate the government's overall tax policies, while Revenue Canada is left to implement them. Quite often, the temptation to increase licensing fees, permit costs and other types of taxes charged by the government is very great. Is there a set policy in place that each department and agency follows to determine which approach to take when contemplating increases to tariffs or other types of taxes?