A number of measures have been introduced over the years. Some of them were related to COVID‑19, obviously, and they expired. In previous documents, it was estimated that a good part of the budget flexibility over the years, $180 billion out of some $500 billion, as I recall, applied to expenditures unrelated to COVID‑19.
This is reflected in the fact that the government's operating expenses are 50% higher than before the pandemic. That's quite considerable. Spending on staff is also significantly higher than before the pandemic, and there are many more full-time equivalents in the public service. As a result, from year to year, total compensation or staff costs have been steadily increasing, even though pandemic supports have expired or are no longer needed.