Thank you very much. To our witnesses, thanks again.
One of the things Canadians want us to look at is why we are doing this and what the problem is. Mostafa, you were saying there are a lot of assumptions being made. We're doing this so that hopefully we can see some savings. That would be the main reason.
We're looking at the taxation system, the fiscal situation. We've just received your most recent report, and it states that after three months the federal government expenditures in 2016-17 total $62.9 billion, which is 5.7% higher than the $59.5 billion spent over the same interval in 2015-16. That's the largest increase in at least five years, so before we start spending more money, that first assumption has to be clear.
In your answer last time, Mostafa, you did state that you as a group could give us a snapshot or a benchmark of where we're at today. Is that correct?