Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Earlier when I put my question to the minister I obtained a rather political reply. However I would like to obtain a technical answer on how the department arrives at its decision to lower or increase the reserve fund, and whether it increases or lowers, for planning purposes, the forecasts regarding private sector economic growth.
How is the decision made, and how, since last November's economic update, in the space of three months, did we go from a $20-billion decrease in private sector projections to $40 million today? How was the decision to increase the reserve fund from $1 to $6 billion made? I am not talking about the fact that these amounts are increased or decreased, but about how you specifically arrive at a figure of $6 billion or $40 billion.