Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank everyone for joining us today.
It is clear that we are primarily focusing on the most important element of Mr. Ferguson's report—the way those government processes affect individuals. In this very specific case, the entire federal public service has been affected by our decision—and I am talking about the Government of Canada—to replace an outdated pay system. I think everyone agrees that the system had to be replaced.
The problem here is the lack of preparation. I'm sorry, but this was not an unexpected occurrence. Similar things are happening in other countries, but there are lessons to be learned from that. I find this to be extremely difficult for the entire federal public service, which has been suffering the consequences of those errors simply because, based on what I have read and heard, the government had not exercised due diligence when it transitioned to a pay system that is so different from the previous one.
Ms. Lemay, your comments are definitely appreciated by all public servants. But the fact remains that they are going through difficult situations. I'm not even talking about those who have not received all the money they are due, but those who have been overpaid and are now being asked to repay rather large sums of money they don't have. That has affected their access to some credits, such as the Canada Child Benefit. They no longer have access to those kinds of credits and, suddenly, they are being asked to repay money they really don't have.
How can you meet those employees' expectations?