Mr. Speaker, last year alone we saved approximately $28 million as a result of direct deposit. These are savings on postage, paper and on banking charges. In the last six months alone 1.7 million Canadians have agreed to join the direct deposit system.
While at this time 40 per cent of all payments by the federal government are made by direct deposit, it is our intention to increase that in the short term to at least 60 per cent for an annual savings of $44 million.
I encourage Canadians as much as possible to join others to help us save money and at the same time have a very reliable way of receiving payments.