Thank you for the question, Mr. Chair.
The $6 billion was the amount that accumulated since the severance benefit was put in place. That is a period of time that varies, depending upon the collective agreements, but you're looking over roughly 30 years or so. It did get added into, as I mentioned, some 27 collective agreements, plus other groups as well.
That amount...it's not a fund, but it's a liability that's already booked in the government's financial statements. If you refer to the Public Accounts of Canada, volume I, under the liabilities for the Government of Canada, included in there last year was roughly $6 billion. That amount has already impacted the bottom line of the government. What we are dealing with now is the payout of that liability. Some employees will opt to receive payment now, some received it last year, and others will opt to defer the receipt of that payment until they voluntarily retire or leave the public service.
So that amount will be with us over a number of years. What we're dealing with now is that as the agreements are renegotiated, employees are given the option to get payout now, even though they remain as employees of the Government of Canada. But the liability itself will be with us for quite some time. It will be reduced as payments are made, but the liability itself will be there for quite some time.