Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Milliken and Ms. O'Brien. I would also like to acknowledge you, Mr. Milliken, for all your help. You are right, you are well prepared this morning. In principle, we should be able to get straight answers to straight questions. Thank you.
I have four questions for you, Mr. Milliken. The first has to do with information technology services. I see that the budget has been reduced. Mr. Bard is smiling because he knows exactly what I am about to say. I want to know at what point we can expect to services other than those offered by BlackBerrys.
My second question is about security. You are right to say that the committee is very worried about the level of security on Parliament Hill. You are aware of this as you have already testified before the committee on this issue. The additional money will be used to standardize scanning operations. I would like to hear about all of the other recommendations that have already been addressed. Perhaps you are going to tell me that this money comes from the budgets of the RCMP, the Prime Minister's Office or Public Works and Government Services.
Third, I would like to know how the employee benefit plans for House of Commons employees compare with those of public service employees. Are they the same now? I see that they will be reduced from 19% to 18.5%. What does this mean?
Finally, has the policy applicable to the House of Commons temporary and term employees been changed to include technical employees or temporary employees working on committees or in messenger services?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.