Sir, I think the credibility of the Parliamentary Budget Officer will come from our ability to provide comprehension of what is involved in those economic forecasts and how it implicates the fiscal framework. The more we bring anything to the table, in terms of a better understanding of the risk and the ranges that would meet your fiscal framework, the more it will add credibility.
I think, sir, as you say, if I were to put another number out—a budget balance kind of number versus the Department of Finance's—it would become a major issue right away. But if I put out the ranges that are out there, I think we're all better informed to understand, in that kind of planning context, what it would really mean from the standpoint of a planning purpose. I think the credibility comes from better comprehension, as opposed to, “Here is my number; this is the Department of Finance's number.”
In terms of Mr. Rubin's comments about the possibility of a deficit, I think if you were to look at the range of private sector forecasts now and looked at the lower range in the economic forecast versus the higher range, taking the lower range on the economy, we probably could be looking at some small budgetary deficits; on the higher range, we would have obviously some budgetary surpluses.
Putting that kind of information out and showing what it means for fiscal planning is what we would like to do.