I think, from a national point of view, consolidated debt is what we should be focusing on. Although the federal government finances look very good, the debt-to-GDP ratio is quite low and is projected to remain stable, I am concerned about the implications when you add on the provincial debt-to-GDP ratios, which really does change the comparisons.
When you look at the Canadian federal government compared to the U.S. government, Canada looks very favourable. When you compare the U.S. government plus all the U.S. states, and then you compare the Canadian federal government plus all the provinces, then Canada is outperforming but it's not outperforming by the same margin. Having said that, I think, a sound budgetary practice is to anchor your fiscal projections in a projection that leads you back to balance. I do not like the debt-to-GDP ratio as a fiscal anchor. I think it's an extraordinarily weak anchor.