Finance committee  No. For certainty to the provinces and territories for their budgeting, we leave the amount that's been allocated to them.

Finance committee  Your total envelope is going to be allocated on the growth in GDP. That's going to set the envelope that's allocated across.

Finance committee  We have a regular estimates cycle for the allocation on the transfer now, and we'll continue to do so in the future, which reviews the calculation of the years to follow.

Finance committee  On the GDP, no.

Finance committee  You're going to catch a lot of that. You're talking about a three-year moving average, so you have a window that's moving through. So you're going to have common data points that are updated for the following year's allocation, or your following year's growth.

Finance committee  The information that's used to calculate the allocation, which includes population and under the current formula includes tax data, is updated through the regular estimates process, and that follows some time afterwards.

Finance committee  When you're making a calculation for.... The challenge we're faced with is that we're trying to project for a year that's coming—what it is for provincial budgeting purposes.

Finance committee  The changes in this bill are to provide clarity and certainty to provinces with regard to what's happening after 2013-14. In the act as it reads now, there is no transfer after 2013-14. These changes provide for the future growth of the transfer. The press release that was put out in December 2011 referred to $38 billion by 2018-19.

Finance committee  Any projection as to the costs is going to rely on data that we don't have right now. It's going to involve projections of whatever our gross domestic product will be at that time.

Finance committee  The formula is an extension of the 6% for three years, and after that it's drawn from a parallel. As I mentioned, the GDP approach is drawn from the equalization formula, so you have a parallel to treatment in other transfer programs.

Finance committee  That will depend. You have a couple of variables in there. You have what the population of the province is going to be in whatever particular year you're examining. As well, past the date when the GDP floor takes effect, what is the GDP? We know we have a minimum of 3%. Beyond that it would be a projection.

Finance committee  I would simply mention that provinces and territories have the authority to administer their health systems. This provides a certainty as to what the federal funding contribution will be beyond 2013-14, and that enables and supports them to take decisions as to how various factors that influence different provinces would apply.

Finance committee  If you look solely at demographics.... I think you're referring to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, which has put out, for example, various cost profiles by age, which demonstrate that health costs do vary by age.

Finance committee  Certainly. Division 17, amendments to the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act and the Canada Health Act, will do three things through clauses 390 to 410. First, it will allow for additional fiscal equalization payments to be paid to the provinces in 2012-13, pursuant to clause 390.

Finance committee  Are you speaking of total transfer funding?