Thanks for the question.
Certainly, economic recovery will help. There's no question that, whether it's provincial or federal, a stronger economy generates more tax revenues. I think that as we get through the worst of the recession, federal revenues will begin to recover.
I think what's a bit unfortunate, however—and you've been alluding to it—is that we've been involved, certainly in North America, in a little bit of a race to the bottom in terms of who can cut taxes the most. I do think we need to look seriously at that. I think we have a much better potential in Canada to get out of our deficit problem more readily than south of the border. I already mentioned the marginal tax rates on very wealthy families and individuals being significantly higher in the U.S. than they are in Canada. Similarly, if you look at corporate tax rates, for example, we've been cutting those rates in Canada a bit below what they are currently in the U.S.
In my view, we shouldn't be looking to cut taxes more. If anything, those who can afford to pay more should perhaps be called upon to do so, including very wealthy Canadians and perhaps larger, profitable corporations, as corporate tax. Or at least let's not cut corporate taxes any further. That by itself is going to give the federal government additional resources it can really use on priority programs.
I don't think there should be a greater priority than trying to reduce and eventually eliminate poverty. If that's where the dollars are applied, I personally think Canadians would be supportive of that. That's my view.