If anything the revenue projections are very prudent. We are very cautious about 1996. The American economy has been growing very rapidly with increased interest rates. We are concerned that our export markets may be dampened somewhat because of a slowdown in the American economy. I know American economists and observers are very nervous about whether interest rates have gone up too high in the United States.
Since so much of our revenue on the corporate side is based on our export industries, to say nothing of the jobs in markets such as the automobile industry and so on, if we do not make prudent projections on the revenue side we will be caught with increased costs in UI and reduced corporate profits and will find ourselves without the revenue.
Therefore, as I said in response to an earlier question, the last thing we want to do collectively as parliamentarians-in this respect the whole House should be in agreement-is set up a situation where we disappoint Canadians again. I would much rather be in a position of surprising them with good news than coming back again with a budget that has to be redrawn based on faulty optimistic projections.
The Department of Finance, through the minister's instructions, has been very cautious in the way it has drawn up the projections. We have insisted that the more optimistic projections in the private sector be scaled down. We have been very cautious in the way we have set out the amount of money available to us in two years.