As we explained in the report, one of the first steps you have to take on the economic side towards sustainable public finances is to ensure that you maximize your potential growth, which means, in turn, ensuring that people participate in the labour market as much as possible and that your productivity is as high as possible.
In 2006 the government published “Advantage Canada”, which is a long-term plan to support long-term growth. The government has taken a number of steps, which are outlined in the report, to support both the labour market participation and productivity through the years. The list is long, and it's fairly difficult to go through it all, but there are major elements such as the building Canada fund, at $33 billion, for infrastructure to support productivity across Canada. There's also the reduction in corporate and personal income taxes. There were a number of measures, big and small, to support that.
The second item that is important is to look at the public finances. The first thing you need to ensure is that you have a balanced budget or a surplus as often as possible. The government, between 2006 and the global crisis, paid down debt every year, which is the first thing you should do if you want to have a sustainable fiscal situation.
After the crisis, I would say that the two major decisions for fiscal sustainability had to do with a more sustainable path for the CHT and OAS. Those two actions were explained in the report of the Auditor General and in our report as a significant step to ensure long-term fiscal sustainability.