Thank you.
Madam Chair, I would say that it depends on the type of activity. For example, for the implementation of the economic action plan, Service Canada, which reports to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, had to increase its staff fairly quickly, for the very reason that it had to meet the growing demand on the part of people who were unfortunately laid off and who wanted access to employment insurance benefits or training, as well as requests from employers who wanted access to transitional measures.This department succeeded in increasing its staff fairly quickly, but that was so it could cope with a fairly major increase in workload. Now it will have to begin reducing staff. It is possible to deal with these situations by hiring people who are not necessarily subcontractors, but who work on a contractual basis for a definite period.
In other circumstances, for example, when certain agencies were created, it was found to be more profitable to call on more contract workers than full-time employees. It allowed for greater flexibility in situations where the demand for and use of services fluctuated excessively. In some cases, we used the subcontractors because certain activity sectors were transferred. In such cases, service contracts were awarded and the costs were reduced as a result. Depending on the activity, the type of department, and fluctuations in use and requirements, we make adjustments according to specific situations.