First of all, I'd like to clarify something about the three-year time frame I was talking about.
The government of the day can decide to adjust the borrowing limit every year, if it wishes. Under the proposed measure, the government would have to return to Parliament at least once every three years to have the limit adjusted, but the government has the discretion to do it every year, if it wants to.
The budget also sets out the strategy for managing the debt. By including those numbers in the budget, the government is accountable to Parliament and the public. Every year, a debt management report is also published; it lays out all the costs associated with servicing the debt.
Turning back to the matter of the economic forecasts, I would say it's far from an exact science and particularly challenging right now, mainly because of market uncertainties. We can't control what happens in the world. We have seen numerous shocks in recent years, and that has complicated the business of economic forecasting.
To arrive at our forecasts, we consult about 15 private-sector economists and take the average. We also ask them to list the risks associated with their projections, from both an upward and downward standpoint. That is why our forecasts include a contingency reserve.
It's not an exact science, and Canada isn't the only one adjusting its budget forecasts, either. All industrialized nations do the same. The IMF and OECD revise their forecasts quarterly.
It bears repeating: it's not an exact science. We do our best, but the market uncertainties make our job a lot more complicated.