Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thanks to the committee for giving me the opportunity to appear before you today in my capacity as commissioner of revenue and chief executive officer of the CRA.
With me is Kami Ramcharan, who is the CFO and assistant commissioner of the finance and administration branch at the agency.
We are pleased to appear before you today to discuss the findings, as they relate to the CRA, of the Office of the Auditor General's spring 2018 report which assessed the disposal of Crown assets.
As a matter of process, the CRA seeks to extend the use of its Crown assets before it considers replacing or disposing of them. This approach is good for the environment and ensures sound management of public funds.
Once CRA assets are no longer required but are still in good working order, the CRA initially offers the assets for reuse within the agency or, where practical, offers them for transfer to other federal departments and agencies prior to considering other methods of disposal.
For example, the CRA routinely donates surplus IT equipment, including computers, to programs such as Computers for Schools and the CRA's own community volunteer income tax program.
As noted in the report, while the CRA is not subject to the Treasury Board policy, the agency manages its disposal of assets in compliance with internal policies and directives that are similar to Treasury Board policies. This is made possible by the CRA Act, which gives the CRA full authority over all matters relating to general administrative policy, including the management of its resources, services, property, personnel and contracts.
Mr. Chair, the CRA welcomed the Auditor General's positive assessment regarding the CRA's reuse and refurbishment of its surplus assets. As you heard earlier, the Auditor General's report also found that over the fiscal years 2014 to 2017, the CRA's practices resulted in savings of more than $4.5 million compared to the cost of buying new furniture.
In addition, the report provided four recommendations to maximize benefits when disposing of Crown assets, one of which refers to the CRA: to review our internal processes to facilitate the donation of surplus assets. We feel that's a good suggestion, and we will undertake this review.
The CRA welcomes the opportunity to work in partnership with other organizations to create a government-wide approach that would facilitate an efficient, fair and transparent donation process.
This concludes my formal remarks. I welcome any questions the committee may have about the CRA's disposal practices.