Thank you for that question.
One of the things I mentioned in my discussion was the need to look at the spending, because for Canada's current social benefits that everybody treasures, there is an escalating cost driven by demographics. We're not getting any younger, I unfortunately have to note. When you go into the details of the fiscal accounts, you note that there are old age security benefits and health transfers and the like, escalating at a pace far faster than all other spending. We certainly don't want to cut those, so in order to be able to continue to afford Canada's current social benefits we have to be prudent.
The last recessionary cycle put Canada in good stead because it entered in a far better position than many other countries in the G-7. Well, cycles happen, and you could have all the economists in a room and probably they'd all have a different opinion as to when the next downturn is going to be. You correctly point to the dangers in Europe. Business doesn't like uncertainty—that could trigger something else. It's a long way of saying that I think Canada has to maintain fiscal prudence so that it remains in the good position it had going into the last downturn. That's quite important.
