That is a very good question.
First, I want to point out that, at the very beginning of the crisis, I was strongly in favour of wage subsidies. I was in favour of finding a way for the state, the Government of Canada, to become a kind of buyer of last resort for our businesses in a period of crisis when supply and demand collapsed.
Economists, and there are many of us here at this meeting, are currently working in the dark. It is difficult. There are production stoppages in many sectors. Some sectors will be able to reopen. Some will reopen in some provinces, in some regions, and others will not.
To be able to design an effective and fair asymmetrical design of employment insurance, for example, and also of wage subsidy measures, we will have to have the situation clearly mapped out. Very extensive work will have to be done to find out where these production stoppages are and in which sectors. This will allow us to make the right decisions, because all analysts, even the smartest ones in the country right now, are having a hard time identifying those sectors.
I would add that it is important for the government to find out which sectors must be given priority. We see it in the provinces, and we will see it here, in the federal government, if it's not already the case: there are sectors where lobbyists are lining up for help. We are clearly sensitive to that. These are jobs, these are the lives of Canadians.
However, we will have to have a good idea of the sectors that need priority assistance if we want to regain control of the budget situation. It is difficult to get that information at this time. I think the government has a role to play in providing us with the information. I also know that public servants are very busy and that we are asking for a lot.