I think we have to admit that those are two extraordinary years of responding in concert with the other G-20 nations to the global recession, spending 2% of GDP on massive stimulus programs, which the government put in place. But also, at the same time it had, as a result, a deficit of $56 billion.
You also talked about the importance of getting back to a balanced budget position, so this is a very confusing message, frankly. To use “austerity” when we're increasing by 5.4% to 5.8% the major transfers from the federal government to persons and provinces is I think language that's frankly not appropriate.
And you can say that of the $70 billion of the rest of spending, government sought between 5% and 10% reductions from departments. But to describe that as austerity, compared with what some other western industrialized countries have had to do with respect to their public benefits is I think language that's not appropriate.