Justice committee  There are some cases in which departments or the Department of Justice will retain outside counsel, particularly in areas of expertise that are quite specialized. For cases that are quite large and often in remote areas where we don't have lawyers, we also provide services, as we

Justice committee  Yes, the spending for the department has gone up. It's certainly levelled off in the last few years. If you go back over, say, five years, spending for legal services in government went up both because of the increase in complexity and number of cases and related to salary increa

Justice committee  I'd be happy to. There are about 5,000 employees across Canada. In last year's economic action plan, we promised to cut 330 positions. We are using a combination of measures to achieve that goal. We are improving our computer system. Consequently, we have reduced the number of

Justice committee  It's a combination of the two. Some people will stay. For instance, people who provide IT support will stay in the regions. They will provide virtually the same services but will report to Ottawa. We have eliminated some task overlaps between the regions and Ottawa.

Justice committee  That has to do with our number one and number two strategic objectives, regarding a fair and efficient justice system. We provide the provinces with money for legal aid so that they can assist people who are appearing before the courts. The money is also intended for youth ser

Justice committee  Yes, the level of litigations is constant. We are responsible for about 5,000 litigation cases, across Canada. In most cases, we're talking about legal action taken against the government. We defend the government's actions and the laws.

Justice committee  I'll let Mr. Schnob speak to that.

Justice committee  I believe funding has held steady for ongoing baseline funding for legal aid.

Justice committee  I'll wait for Mr. Schnob to find his tab. My understanding was that it would represent mains and supplementaries and—

Justice committee  No.

Justice committee  It's a fair question. We'll get back to you because obviously my understanding is not the correct one. I understood that with the format that was being....

Justice committee  No, you wouldn't have supplementary (C)s in there.

Justice committee  Yes, I will.

Justice committee  That's correct.

Justice committee  That's correct.