Government Operations committee  I think it's once we determine or we know which organizations are receiving lower amounts or no grants at all. That's the point at which we'll know the impact on services.

Government Operations committee  Yes, that's a solid interpretation of the conclusions of our successive reports that have estimated the impact of the carbon tax. When we look at the direct costs of the carbon tax, for example when you heat with gas or fill up your car with gas, the indirect costs, for example the goods and services you buy that have an energy component, as well as the goods and services tax, in other words, when we look at everything that is paid as well as all the rebates paid to consumers or households, we see that, in the provinces where the federal carbon tax applies, about 80% of households receive more in rebates than they pay.

Government Operations committee  I think it's a bit early to be certain that there won't be any impacts on services. However, based on what the Indigenous Services and the Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs departments told us, and based on the information that was provided, it seems that the savings will mostly come from reserves, at least in the first year—reserves that Indigenous Services has set aside to, I think, attend to unforeseen events.

Government Operations committee  I'll have to go back.... Jill tells me.... Go ahead, Jill.

Government Operations committee  This indicates that the main estimates you are being asked to approve as parliamentarians present only a very partial picture of the government's plan. It contains the budget appropriations you are being asked to approve, but none of the budget initiatives. So it's a very partial picture, since it doesn't include the measures that will be presented by the Minister of Finance on April 16, but you're still being asked you to consider it, approve it, or at least debate it.

Government Operations committee  Yes, it's a little backwards, at least in terms of the supply procedure for departments and agencies, since you are being asked to approve most of the funding for departments before the federal budget, that is to say the government's budget plan, is tabled.

Government Operations committee  A number of measures have been introduced over the years. Some of them were related to COVID‑19, obviously, and they expired. In previous documents, it was estimated that a good part of the budget flexibility over the years, $180 billion out of some $500 billion, as I recall, applied to expenditures unrelated to COVID‑19.

Government Operations committee  We've seen, either in the main or in the supplementary estimates, that benefits for seniors will amount to about $81 billion this year, and they're expected to rise to more than $90 billion over the foreseeable future. By 2028-29, they're expected to reach $99.7 billion. They're expected to increase by between 5% and 7% per year in the next couple of years.

Government Operations committee  Yes. The aging population obviously has an impact on the long-term sustainability of all levels of government in the country, including the federal and provincial governments. However, we find that the federal government, because of the nature of its own spending, is still sustainable.

Government Operations committee  We have not done a recent update, since April 2022, of the Government of Canada's spending on military expenditures as a share of GDP. That's something we are considering doing. It's not as straightforward as it may sound, because the NATO definition not only includes spending on national defence but also spending on veterans issues as well as the Canadian Coast Guard, among other things.

Government Operations committee  The Government of Canada may have, but we have not updated that figure since the last time we published it in 2022.

Government Operations committee  We estimate that this year's spending on debt servicing costs will be about $46 billion, and with the interest rate increases and the time it takes for the impact to be fully felt on the stock of debt as government debt gets refinanced progressively, we expect that amount to increase to $62 billion by 2028-29.

Government Operations committee  The refocusing of government spending, the $500 million in savings for the fiscal year that is ending this year, has $150 million coming from travel services and a reduction in travel expenditures. The remainder, $350 million, is expected to come from a reduction in consulting services.

Government Operations committee  When it comes to management in the public service, some of you may know that there are executive-class executives in the executive group. There are five levels, from EX-01 to EX-05, and in addition to that there are deputy ministers, including associate deputy ministers. It's not uncommon for departments to have five levels of executives, with one or more associate deputy ministers and one deputy minister.

Government Operations committee  We don't have the same role. I don't have the same role as the Auditor General, so I don't always need to have the same level of documentation as the AG. In general, I have found that the information that we have needed has been provided by government departments. As I said, we don't have the same mandate, so we don't require the same level of proof.