Thank you for your usual co‑operation, Mr. Giroux.
I'd now like to talk about a study you conduct each year. This study is the report on the fiscal sustainability of the Canadian provinces and the country as a whole. Fiscal sustainability isn't easy to achieve everywhere. You probably know what I'm getting at, Mr. Giroux. According to your 2023 report, five provinces are sustainable, relative to the percentage of GDP and estimates of the financial gap between the provinces and subnational governments. The five other provinces are categorized as unsustainable, as are the territories. You can see where I'm going. Fifty per cent of provincial governments, including Quebec, face a potential long‑term financial risk when additional public spending is introduced.
My question is hypothetical, but nevertheless based on your analysis of the fiscal sustainability of the various governments. Based on past experience, if the federal government rolled out a significant program such as pharmacare and decided to pull back and reduce its funding, how would this affect the fiscal sustainability of Quebec and the provinces?