Thank you for joining us.
I have a somewhat more general question.
The main estimates for 2012-2013 total $251.9 billion, but the 2011-2012 spending estimates, including the main estimates and the supplementary estimates (A), (B) and (C), are $259.7 billion. That is a decrease in spending estimates of nearly $8 billion.
The 2011-2012 main estimates total $250.8 billion. Here, it’s a matter of $251.9 billion. So, the amounts are fairly close, which means that, if we really want to save $7 billion, practically no new spending should be approved by parliamentarians as part of supplementary estimates (A), (B) and (C). Otherwise, we won’t be able to reach the $8 billion in savings the minister talked about.
I know that supplementary estimates can sometime include global decreases, but in this particular case, there would need to be virtually no spending across supplementary estimates (A), (B) and (C) for the anticipated amount of money to be saved.
Is my analysis correct?