In your submission today there is a suggestion that there would be a saving of 15% to 20% of $3 billion per year. Obviously 15% to 20% of $3 billion is a big chunk of money. It then could be redirected into other initiatives or into other core businesses of government.
When the committee has brought struggling agencies or government departments before it, the number one necessity we've identified is to move towards more efficient high-tech systems. We see this in the payroll sector, and we've seen this--not so much now, but in prior months and years--in the Passport Canada sector. We saw that it was the number one issue in a number of other departments. They wanted to upgrade those programs so that they could more efficiently supply the real core business of government.
I see this, and I think we have a larger picture, but I have one concern.
I think we understand that a large company would be required to supply this new infrastructure or this replacement or whatever it is. My concern is that after the first contract expires, after, say, a duration of five or ten years, all of a sudden the government is committed to a single large company. I have the same concerns as my colleagues in this regard: we don't want to create golden handcuffs that require the government to continue to engage in business with one single large company because the government has already invested in an infrastructure, and replacing the provider would be much more costly than just continuing at an exorbitant rate that the large company might require to continue the service.
Is there some assurance you can provide to us? What should we, as members of Parliament, recommend the department do to ensure that after the first contract expires, somebody else would actually be able to come in and compete? My biggest concern is that we not have issues of intellectual property rights, or any of the other kinds of issues that limit the ability to have some competition down the road for that contract.
I'm running late, and I apologize, but please answer.