Absolutely. Thank you for the question.
I think the first thing is that the Shared Services Canada mandate is specified in an order in council. There are 44 departments that must use our service, particularly on connectivity. That is then optionally provided to a number of other entities, including, if they wish, Crown corporations and others.
As you rightly noted, there are organizations that have opted out, for independence. Primarily, if you look at the judicial branch.... The parliamentary branch has also opted out of Shared Services Canada, for reasons of independence, as you pointed out. They've done other things to compensate for that, but those were the primary things.
Many departments have chosen not to come with SSC. There are a few reasons. Number one is that it does cost more. If you're just going to run standard, commercial Internet access, the commercial defences we've layered on cost money. If you run without those, you're running at risk, but you've made a choice. You might not be able to afford it. That's what the investment in the small departments and agencies is seeking to overcome. It's funding so that they can come on to the sensors that they couldn't have afforded without that type of thing.
It is not a mandatory service. It is an optional service for most departments and agencies that they get to make a choice about. My department works on cost recovery, so they have to be able to pay the bill.