Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I think Mr. Kelly talked about this earlier. Simplifying the process a bit by adopting a single income tax return would certainly make people's lives easier. We know that, in Quebec, having to file two returns can sometimes be complicated. However, the main reason why we at the union have been defending this position for three years is that there really are savings to be made. If this was to lead to job losses and would not result in savings, we would not be at the right place here today, and we could not say that we are a union that defends its members and jobs in Quebec.
We feel that savings of $400 million to $425 million a year are significant. Earlier, some people were saying it could cost $800 million to merge the two returns, but after a few years, the change would easily become profitable. We are not talking about a major problem. That is why a long-term vision is essential. A short-term vision makes us see only the cost of that merger.
Moreover, we really believe that this would help transfer jobs elsewhere. If there are jobs in the federal government that can be useful elsewhere, people can still be transferred to other regions. There is currently a labour shortage in the country and in Quebec....