Thank you very much.
Again, that's a very important question. The comprehensive expenditure review is not about across-the-board cuts. It tasks departments with identifying savings by looking closely at programs and activities that are underperforming, duplicative and not core to their mandate. The goal is to find inefficiencies and improve how the government operates so Canadians get better value for their tax dollars.
A key principle of that is that savings should not come at the expense of the frontline services Canadians rely on. Protecting these services remains a priority throughout this process, and that is why some departments have lower savings targets, such as 2%, including National Defence, Women and Gender Equality, Indigenous Services and the research councils. We recognize the critical role these organizations play in delivering essential services, advancing social priorities and supporting national security, and the approach reflects that.
Our focus has been that we cannot compromise on service delivery to Canadians. This is about finding inefficiencies and duplication and finding those savings to reassign money to the priorities that matter most to Canadians.