Madam Chair, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you to discuss this report.
As you know, I am accompanied by Marc Lemieux, Assistant Commissioner of the Collections and Verification Branch at the Canada Revenue Agency.
For the CRA portion of the audit, the Office of the Auditor General examined whether ESDC and CRA analyzed student loan recovery activities and adjusted procedures accordingly to maximize the funds recovered for the federal government.
The Auditor General acknowledged that the CRA did not have the necessary tools to maximize the recovery of student loans in default. The methods available for the agency to recover student loans were more limited than those available to the agency under the Income Tax Act.
In the report, the Auditor General of Canada made five recommendations. None are addressed to the CRA. One audit recommendation does mention the CRA. To address that specific audit recommendation, ESDC is working with us to establish an information-sharing agreement, expected by the spring of 2021. This will enable CRA to strengthen verification of borrower marital status, income, spousal income and number of dependents against tax data during the repayment assistance plan application process.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.