I'd have to say, Madam Chair, one of the elements is that while the recession hit Canada, it did not do so in the same way or fashion as in other countries. In terms of the financial position and the regulatory position of our own financial institutions, if I can put it that way, we didn't have the same impact. We also didn't have the same issues as, for example, the United States had with housing and mortgages. In fact, we have a very strong housing sector and it keeps rebounding.
While we did have quite an impact on the manufacturing sector, other parts of the Canadian economy were able to remain if not completely stable and strong, at least the dip was not as pervasive as in other countries.
I would say overall it was our regulatory framework, our fiscal position in that we were running surpluses up until the recession, and therefore we were able to release some funds in order to stimulate the economy. Overall, if I look at the financial, fiscal, and regulatory positions--and just the overall economy--we were in a stronger position going into the recession than other countries.