We talked continuously on this whole process. When the estimates and the budget were on the same accounting basis, you could put them together very quickly. You had a linkage between the two. Today that's not the case. Ever since we moved to a full accounting for the budget and the audited financial statements, without having the same thing happen to the estimates, there has been a big delink between the two, to the point where the estimates are basically irrelevant for budget planning purposes.
The comments I made today are comments that I also made in my 30 years in government. Up till now, they have had no effect. I did make a presentation at one time on why the estimates should be on an accrual basis of accounting. I did that to an outside group. Treasury Board was there. They had a copy of my paper. Treasury Board has been looking at this issue for I don't know how long. The Auditor General has raised this issue in numerous reports for a number of years without any satisfaction, without any resolution.
Why hasn't it happened? It's not because we haven't pushed. I think it's a little bit because the estimates are not as prominent as other types of government information. They are not seen as being headline news and haven't gotten the attention that they should in approving spending.