Minister Flaherty is absolutely right; we are not an island. There's probably no other country in the world better placed to resist or deal with pressures we see elsewhere in the world, but we will not be immune.
You asked specifically about the fiscal cliff. I remain an optimist. I hope they will deal with that. I think it remains to be seen what the nature of the solution would be before we can assess what kind of impact it would have on GDP going forward. If the fiscal cliff is not addressed, and as I say, I hope it will be, then there will be an impact on GDP. There are varying degrees of estimates.
We are a trading nation. The United States is our biggest trading partner. I know we're trying to diversify, but we cannot escape if there is a slowdown or a lessening in economic growth in the U.S.
In Europe, I think the biggest transmission belt is if a slowdown has the effect of dragging the economy down. They are customers for Chinese products, and if they slow down, China slows down. It will just have that slowing effect. I remain an optimist, and I think the fiscal cliff will be solved.