Some of it is used to pay employees’ salaries, but some of it is used to pay for technology licenses or to hire consultants who provide very specialized services that aren’t offered by anyone within the department or anywhere else in the public service right now. So it’s a combination of the two.
The truth is, the majority of these funds are used to pay employees’ salaries, including the fifteen or so people who work in the claims office, which reports to Treasury Board Secretariat and handles claims related to problems with the Phénix payroll system. I know this subject is of particular interest to you.