It absolutely was, Mr. MacDonald. I want to start with where you began your question, which is talking about COVID-19, the COVID-19 recession, and the extraordinary measurements that our government, and, in fact, all Canadians, put in place.
It's really important to underscore that our measures have been economically successful. The jobs recovery is particularly strong in Canada, and every person who has a job today...that's so important for a family.
There is another thing we did. We saved lots of lives. Had Canada had the mortality levels of the United States, 70,000 additional Canadians would have died. That's the whole population of Fredericton. This is the finance committee. We're talking about dollars and cents, and that is important, but those 70,000 people include neighbours, parents and grandparents. I think back to the really darkest days of the pandemic. We weren't perfect. Canada wasn't perfect, but we did a pretty good job. Our measures helped to save lives, and I think it's important for all of us to remember that.
Quickly, on the student loans—really important—data from the Department of Finance shows that among the people who are facing the biggest challenges right now with elevated inflation are students—our young people—so, permanently eliminating student loans provides relief to young Canadians today. I'm the MP for University—Rosedale, and there are lots of students in my riding. People have said to me directly that knowing this is permanent is a real relief. I think we owe that to young Canadians. I'm glad we're able to do it.