Government Operations committee  It's an issue that certainly is important. It was even more important a year or two ago, and it could become important again. Unfortunately, we have not looked at the economic impact of procuring PPE from abroad, or at the national security aspect of relying mostly on foreign sup

Government Operations committee  The government decision to reduce effectively to zero the interest on student loans should result, in future years, in the student loan debt writeoff to decrease progressively. Given that it's a seven-year process between the time the debt becomes questionable until it's written

Government Operations committee  I have concerns about these two factors when they are accompanied by perceived service shortcomings in several sectors in which the government has an important responsibility. Increasing the size of the public service is something that is dependent on government decisions. Incre

Government Operations committee  Inflation is playing an important role in the increases in statutory authorities because the main items in statutory authorities or statutory spending are old age security, which is indexed to inflation and also is driven by the population growth of those aged 65 and above, and t

Government Operations committee  Very indirectly. To the extent that someone would say that government intervention has contributed to inflation, then there could be a feedback loop. Due to the inflation, statutory authorities need to increase, so yes, it's a possibility.

Government Operations committee  Not directly. I think it's driven by inflation and population growth.

Government Operations committee  In fact, they usually are done for very solid, very good management reasons, in my experience at least. I can't speak specifically to each and every one of them included in the supplementaries. They're done because conditions for the release of funds have not yet been met. It's

Government Operations committee  I think it's important to have at-risk pay as an incentive to enhance performance among executives but also to reward high performers and distinguish them from average performers or poor performers, which there are in any organization.

Government Operations committee  It is consistent except for next year, the year that will start April 1, where we expect to see an increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio, which would be, based on what we know so far, a blip or an anomaly in an otherwise downward trend at a moderate pace in the debt-to-GDP ratio. How

Government Operations committee  I haven't looked at the commissions or the breakdowns of the fees that consultants charge the government. That would require going through thousands of contracts. We looked at the overall numbers and, unfortunately, I don't have an answer for you.

Government Operations committee  I can expand on the fact that three supplementary estimates do not happen every year. That's true. Usually—well, not usually, because it depends on the year—having supplementary estimates (A) and (B) in a year used to be quite normal, years and years ago. Having three supplementa

Government Operations committee  I'm worried because the budget for the national defence policy includes capital expenditures established over a period of several years, while the costs involved in national defence procurement projects, including warships, are continually increasing. I am therefore worried that

Government Operations committee  That's quite possible.

Government Operations committee  Sure. I haven't looked at what other countries do. I've been very busy looking at what Canada does, so unfortunately I don't have international comparisons. The fact that consultant services and the recourse to those services has increased is concerning when compared or when pu

Government Operations committee  It is. It seems to be. If you compare main estimates with main estimates, it is consistent. However, in our March economic and fiscal outlook, we expect the debt-to-GDP ratio to increase next year rather than decrease, due to a slowing economy and increases in expenditures. Ther