Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The employee benefits rate is set by the Treasury Board. It's uniform for the public service.
In terms of parity between benefit plans for House employees and public servants, I can assure you that House employees are entitled to the same benefits as public servants. As our institution is much smaller than the public service, in some cases we can also offer our employees more flexibility when it comes to adjustments to work hours for family reasons, and so on.
House employees are certainly entitled to the same benefits as public service employees. Also, as a result of an amendment to the Public Service Act, and of changes to staffing procedures, House employees can now apply for public service jobs, which was not the case in the past. At least that's something.