Thank you for the question.
Let me first demystify professional services. This is a question we are often asked in parliamentary committee.
Professional services cost $23 billion and include 14 occupational categories. One of the most important categories is engineering fees. A large part of that is paid by the Department of National Defence and by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
A very large part is still dedicated to everything having to do with building refit. I am thinking in particular of the Terrasses de la Chaudière building, but also of the Parliament. All of that is paid to specialized staff in areas where the public service does not have the necessary workforce to provide the required services. In terms of professional services, I can also give the example of nurses who are sent to the north to provide health care, of course.
I think it is really important to understand the 14 categories and not always conflate the $23 billion with the personnel expenses that you have in the public accounts.
That said, personnel expenses will increase, obviously because of salary increases for the public service, but also because of everything to do with pensions and benefits related to health and dental care.