Okay.
In terms of the budget limit, I'm not religious about that. To me, it's another check and balance. I've been arguing with my students for years. We tend to think in a democracy, “Oh, yes, we understand checks and balances. It means an election.” But there are vastly many more checks and balances than elections. The annual report of every government to Parliament is a check and balance. The main estimates are a check and balance. All of these are checks and balances that are functional and necessary for the efficient functioning of a democracy.
It's not that I'm sitting around getting all excited and filled with angst over whether the debt ceiling is going to $1.8 trillion or $1.5 trillion. It's a check and balance on the government of the day to come forth with a plan to justify what it's doing. It's a very useful tool. It's not something we're doing just for fun. It's because it's a useful tool that helps democracies and stakeholders and citizens and journalists and academics understand what's going on.
I think if we think of it in those terms...rather than, “Well, the government's going to prove it anyways. Why go through the motions?” It's not about going through the motions. It's about the requirement to be accountable to Parliament and to the Canadian people.