Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I have few comments on the last exchange. We often hear from the federal government that it took action to support the economy during the pandemic. That is what we in the Bloc Québécois asked for. We relied in particular on your reports regarding financial viability, Mr. Giroux. We could see that the federal government had much more fiscal leeway than the provinces, according to long-term projections. So from our point of view it makes sense that the federal government would take such action.
The government bragged about its new spending related to the pandemic, especially spending related to vaccines. It said that the federal government contributed eight out of every ten dollars. In response to that, I pointed out that, every year, the provinces can contribute up to eight out of every ten dollars for regular health care expenditures, or seven out of ten dollars, according to your figures, Mr. Giroux. So we can see how it all balances out.
In short, it was the federal government that had the leeway.
What we are hearing now is that provinces are accumulating surpluses, while the federal government incurred huge debts to get through the pandemic. In response to that, I refer once again to the report on financial viability. In spite of the massive, historic and record level of debt incurred by the federal government to help Canadians and the economy get through the pandemic, that does not fundamentally change the picture, as you pointed out, Mr. Giroux. Rather, this debt is cyclical and tied to the current economic environment, and that does not change the fundamentals.
Based on that analysis, Mr. Giroux, I have the following question for you.
We are talking about fiscal federalism right now. Have your reports on financial viability and your various analyses allowed you to determine whether there is truly a fiscal imbalance between the orders of government?