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A commission set up by Quebec’s Liberal government to review government programs and cut back on spending will cost taxpayers at least $3.8 million in its first year of operation.

That’s according to a “conservative” estimate outlined in documents obtained by The Canadian Press under Access-to-Information legislation.

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Salaries account for much of the projected cost.

Annual pay for the commission’s president, ex-Liberal cabinet minister Lucienne Robillard, as well as four expert consultants is estimated to total $1.03 million.

Robillard’s annual salary is set at $265,000, which breaks down as $1,100 per day for eight hours work over 240 days. The salary for each of the four experts is set at $192,500, or $800 per day.

Martin Coiteux, the province’s treasury board president, said the commission’s goal is to review which government programs are most effective, which can be improved and which should be eliminated.