On gross debt, when we compare Canada's debt as a percentage of GDP to other countries, we often compare our debt to unitary states where other levels of government do not carry the levels of debt we're seeing in Canadian provincial governments. It's a particularly germane question, given the timing. We're entering a period of negotiation with the provinces on health transfers, and a demographic shift is going to impose on us significant productivity challenges and increases in health and social costs.
We have an 82% gross debt as a percent of GDP; the U.S. is at 83% gross debt as a percent of GDP. Our gross debt as a percent of GDP is higher than that of the U.K., France, and Germany.
What should we be doing on the federal side to prepare for these negotiations and bring the federal government into a surplus? How concerned are you about the gross debt issue?