Right now it appears, and through questioning of the minister—three times he's been asked whether it is a contingency or just part of the spending plan of the government.... What we are getting back from the minister in repeated answers to that question is that if there are monies available, left over that were for unforeseen...what I call “contingency”.
Unforeseen circumstances happen, such as Fort McMurray, such as other things you can't foresee, and so you create a contingency fund for those things. But at the end of the fiscal year, if that money is not used, that money then goes back to reduce the deficit of that year, if there is a deficit, or if there's a surplus it adds to the surplus, but it's not used for other purposes. That's why it's called a contingency.
My contention has been, and I would like your advice, that if it's not set out as a contingency, as it is today in the budget, it's actually planned spending. What are your views on that? I understand the need for prudence, and that's why you have contingencies, but this looks like planned spending. Is it, then, really a contingency? Can I ask you that question?