Finance committee  In our report, we didn't say why or not. We just made the principles. I recommend that you read the report again; I mentioned that there are some conditions. I mean, the past history in Canada has shown that many provinces that had balanced budgets did not respect the legislation all the time, or amended the legislation.

Finance committee  Our view is that a balanced budget is not an idée fixe. It's not something that you should always have in mind. As long as you follow the legislation.... It is the privilege of the government to have this kind of legislation. In our report, as I said, we mentioned that there are some principles that are really important to follow, including the fact that if you have a natural disaster or any kind of catastrophe, you may have to have a non-balanced budget or have a deficit at that time.

Finance committee  Not only are you right, but I'm also happy that the economists on my team or in Ottawa did not predict the oil prices exactly right at that time, because all these economists would be playing golf in the Bahamas right now. It's a very valid point, but we still have to use some projections to—as we said before—do our calculations and have some scenarios.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  The legislative mandate is very clear. We can provide our own analysis based on your fiscal policies. What we did, for example, is something that we do as part of the regular publications we have. Any standing committee, including this one, and any parliamentarian can ask for specific studies, and we have many.

Finance committee  We don't have specific data on that. But in terms of the family tax cut, more commonly known as income splitting, the difference in the couple's incomes would have to be significant in order for them to benefit.

Finance committee  I can't really answer that because it's a political question. All I can say is that the EI fund currently has a surplus that is being used. It's the government's prerogative. It's up to the government to decide how it wants to use that money.

Finance committee  A number of studies are in progress. As I said, we are currently doing a follow-up review on Canada's mission in Iraq, which was expanded. We are also working on a few studies on international trade. And as for the others, I'm going to keep those under my hat for now.

Finance committee  I will ask Scott to answer that question.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to mention something on balanced budget. One of the principles is that compliance with legislation should be measured and monitored by an independent authority. I don't mean to speak for my own bailiwick. As legislators, though, you should consider PBO as being that organization to monitor the legislation.

Finance committee  Your assessment is right. When we discussed it with another member of the committee, we pointed out that it was a new program. It's only been around for a few years. Indeed, we are seeing a savings shift. In the long term, we'll have to see—and that's what we measured—who will be able to benefit from the current $10,000 contribution limit.

Finance committee  In 15 seconds.

Finance committee  We are in the process of doing that follow-up. Without letting the cat out of the bag, I will say that that will probably be the focus of our first discussions with the committee. Our relationship with the Department of National Defence seems to be improving gradually. You may know that we produced our last report with virtually no information provided by the department.

Finance committee  Having not seen the Auditor General's report, I can't comment on that. I'm not sure whether Mostafa would like to add anything.

Finance committee  I think we've already mentioned that we have the same problem in terms of estimates oversight. A parliamentary budget officer position exists. In our quarterly reports, we monitor the government's budgetary expenditures. I'm going to repeat what I said earlier. We, too, have trouble obtaining the necessary data to accurately assess all of the government's measures.