Thanks to our witnesses for being here. My first questions will be for Philip Cross, of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.
Now Mr. Cross, in your opening statement, you mentioned that you're concerned about provincial deficits. I'm glad you did because this was something that Jim Flaherty frequently talked to me about. He frequently encouraged the provinces to use the same fiscal discipline at their level to rein in their deficits as we've done at the federal level to rein in ours. Our government has committed to finding efficiencies and restraining spending within government to help balance the budget by 2015. We're on track to do just that.
Likewise, Canadian families know they cannot prosper by continually spending more than they earn. Our priority at the federal level has been eliminating deficits, and it will be paying down the debt as well. Do you agree that this should be a top priority of any government?