Government Operations committee  I will defer to Ms. Yan on that interesting question.

Government Operations committee  Yes, we are fully prepared. Especially considering that it's a minority situation, we have kept a state of readiness that has been ongoing—not since the last election, obviously, but for the last several months. We have been getting ready for it, getting ready to cost electoral proposals from parties even in a pandemic setting.

Government Operations committee  I am in the process of having memoranda of understanding with key departments be signed, such as we had in the last electoral campaign. So far, they haven't been signed yet.

Government Operations committee  In terms of transparency with the transfers to the provinces, the federal government clearly explains the intended targets of the amounts it hands over to the provinces and territories, including for the fight against COVID-19. It is clearly in its interests to do so. The question you raise is more about the transparency from the provincial side.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for your question. I am probably not in the best position to tell you what effects the pandemic has had on aerospace. But we could look at the sector and report on it, if the committee so wishes. As you say, the sector is an important one for the Canadian economy. Clearly, it has been severely affected by the pandemic and probably will continue to be so for a number of years.

Government Operations committee  I am sure there must be precedents, but, unfortunately, none comes to mind. I feel sure that there have been precedents with specific national defence contracts, for example, but they probably go back to before I was appointed. The people who have been in the office longer than me probably have a better idea of precedents like that.

Government Operations committee  That is a very good question, but federal-provincial dynamics are way beyond my mandate. I prefer not to poke my fingers into that machinery. However, your concern is perfectly valid.

Government Operations committee  A rise in interest rates is one of the risks we established in our economic and budgetary forecasts. We do not see interest rates rising in the short or medium term. That should not happen before the end of 2023 or 2024. Basically, any rise in interest rates will be modest. We are never free from turbulence.

Government Operations committee  A little earlier in the financial year, in the second half of 2020, we conducted an analysis of federal transfers which was quite cursory, considering the extent of the amounts in question. However, when we do our economic and budgetary forecasts, we consider what is known, namely the federal transfers to the provinces, to forecast the level of the deficit.

Government Operations committee  A comprehensive report that includes all the measures that were announced and implemented, their expected cost and the expenditures to date would be a useful tool. I'm not aware of which countries do that. I know some do that. A comprehensive list would be helpful. The fall economic statement had a bit of that, but it was also intertwined with new initiatives.

Government Operations committee  We are not in a position to say how much the 2020-2021 year has cost to date in response to the pandemic, since we have no information in real time. We are basing ourselves on our forecasts, which we revise as soon as we get new data. That gives us a picture that is not perfect but that is not totally unreasonable either.

Government Operations committee  We have a good estimate, albeit an imperfect one, given that we are talking about unprecedented expenditures compared to those we usually deal with.

Government Operations committee  When we did our forecast at the end of September, we had labour market projections. The data that was published subsequently were even better than we had forecast. We feel that our forecasts at the end of September are still valid. Of course, you are mentioning very significant uncertainties, such as the renewed lockdown and the speed with which the lockdown is eased.

Government Operations committee  Thank you. We have looked not only at the most affected sectors, but also at employment and output across various sectors, and we find that, indeed—and without any big surprise—some sectors are faring way worse than others, notably hospitality and food services. They're not doing very well.

Government Operations committee  That's something we probably would be able to address in writing. We have some data—incomplete data—on recipients of the CERB by income group. I'm not certain if we have that by sector as well. I think a written answer would probably be the best way forward on that interesting question.