First of all, let me welcome both of you once again to the finance committee. Thank you for being here.
Let me start with your comments on the overall performance of the economy. We've seen some imbalances in the impact of the downturn and the subsequent recoveries, with some provinces hit more than others. The goods-producing sector is obviously still performing far below where it should be. We're seeing persistently high youth unemployment.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer has said that government spending reductions, the cutbacks, will result in an 1% annual decrease in the GDP by 2014. Were these cutbacks and the austerity measures taken by the government the correct fiscal policy? Would you care to comment on that?