Finance committee  We have the same problem as union leaders. I work with thousands of members, so I can tell you that. As Ms. Daviau said, there's a process for deciding who represents employees and at which location. There's a huge difference between the Canadian and Quebec public services in terms of working conditions and collective agreements, among other things.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. McLeod, I want to really thank you for the question. You got it; you got it. You're talking to witnesses that are all involved in unions. We are giving you our side of it with job losses and all that. That's okay. We can argue savings and all that. What you just said is what the tax experts in Quebec have said, and I would invite the members of the committee to maybe consult tax experts, reports, articles in Le Devoir that I could provide to you where the conclusion is exactly what you just said.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Berthold, thank you for the question. I'm glad that you asked it. Of course, we want to protect jobs. However, I want to remind you of what the experts in Quebec are saying. Pardon the expression, but it's a mess. There are two tax laws. Moreover, despite the good intentions that I acknowledge in the bill proposed by Mr.

Finance committee  I would be lying if I gave you a precise number, so I will not do that. I can tell you there would be hundreds of jobs, easily. We would be talking about maybe even a thousand jobs. We can try to get numbers. You asked where. I mentioned it in my opening remarks, I believe. We have call centres.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for the question, Mr. Julian. As I was saying, during the 2019 election campaign, the Conservative Party spoke about the possibility of people in Quebec losing their jobs at the CRA, especially the people in Shawinigan and Jonquière. There was talk of moving them to other positions to make them experts in the fight against tax evasion.

Finance committee  First, I want to mention that I did not mean any disrespect when I talked about politics. I know the intent is to try to make the life of Quebeckers easier. It was obvious to me, but I want to focus on policies as well. So if I have offended anybody, I apologize.

Finance committee  I'm not going to talk for my members; they are members of the Union of Taxation Employees and not my members, I'm only the national president. It's about $55,000 a year on average, maybe $55,000 to $60,000. We signed a bargaining agreement; after four years we have contracts, now we've got a good contract, of about $55,000 to $60,000.

Finance committee  Okay.

Finance committee  Okay.

Finance committee  I tried to answer the question asked by Mr. Kelly: how much more complicated is it in Quebec than elsewhere. It's obvious. It's easy. There are two bills: the Quebec tax law and the federal tax law. That's why it's more complicated, because Quebec created its own tax law. That's okay; that's the prerogative of the province.

Finance committee  Sure, Mr. Chair. We have not carried out any studies, but it is clear that we are talking about a loss of some $300 million for the economy of Quebec's regions. Hundreds, even thousands of jobs would certainly be affected. It should be understood that people who work at the CRA spend money in the cities and villages they live in.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am a Quebec tax filer, so I know what it's like. Yes, there are two tax returns. As I mentioned before, years ago that point would have been more accurate, but right now I don't like it because, for a union leader, that makes it good for jobs, but the fact of the matter is people are filing electronically.

Finance committee  As I said before, the impact would be very significant. We are talking about at least 1,200 jobs in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean. Even more jobs than that are occasionally involved. There are 1,500 jobs in Mauricie. That represents payrolls of about $75 million in Mauricie and $50 million in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean.

Finance committee  I don't think that's the case. People are very useful. Only 6,000 of the Canada Revenue Agency's employees are in Quebec. The reason I say it's only 6,000 is that there are 45,000 of them in the country. One of the reasons behind that is that the CRA is no longer responsible for administering the GST in Quebec.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Ste-Marie, I want to first say that I very much respect your political beliefs. I did indeed mention that in my opening statement. It would make sense, a lot of sense even, for Revenu Québec to be the only one handling taxation in Quebec, if Quebec were a country.