Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Good afternoon, Minister. I know that you are the president of the Treasury Board and that you are thus not responsible for all government workers. Government agencies and crown corporations come under other budget envelopes, but the fact remains that there are approximately 450,000 government workers in this country, and you are responsible for a very large proportion of them.
Earlier, you referred to the 13,000 public servants who leave their jobs for all kinds of reasons. One of our fears is that, given the public service spending freeze announced in the budget, the federal government will, in one way or another, eliminate positions.
Can you confirm to us today that no public service positions will be eliminated and that, given that it will be difficult to find people to replace them, the natural attrition of employees is not a solution either?