Government Operations committee  —fresh in my mind, I'll give it a try.

Government Operations committee  The size of the debt itself, in absolute terms, is not very meaningful. It has to be looked at in relation to the size of the economy. That's why in the fiscal sustainability report we look at the debt-to-GDP ratio. A growing debt could be very worrisome if the economy is shrinki

Government Operations committee  Yes, that is true both at the aggregate government level and at the federal-only level. Both are sustainable over the 75-year period that we looked at.

Government Operations committee  Thank you.

Government Operations committee  Thanks for the pep talk.

Government Operations committee  Indeed one of my top worries is what the requests will be and the number and nature of the requests with respect to electoral platform costing. We've had preliminary discussions with representatives of the political parties represented in the House. Indications are that a good pr

Government Operations committee  Yes, we have what we call an annual work plan, in which we outline the main issues we'll be looking at, the main reports we will be issuing, and that's as close to a departmental plan as you can have, our annual work plan.

Government Operations committee  Of course. I think it's been tabled in the House and in the Senate, and it's available on our website.

Government Operations committee  Access to information, I think, will continue to be an issue.

Government Operations committee  If they say no, I can name and shame them, and I think that's probably the most efficient dissuasion. In my experience, all public servants hate being dragged in front of a committee, so naming and shaming them and threatening that they'll be required to testify in front of a com

Government Operations committee  I think it's a very good idea. I think anything that can level the playing field, any non-partisan, unbiased information that can be made available to parliamentarians, is a good thing for them as well as for the Canadian public. That's why I intend to release not only the April

Government Operations committee  It is my intention, but it's still early days, so I can't say for sure that I'm going to do it. Can you give me a few days to get back to you on that? Let's say it is my firm intention to do it.

Government Operations committee  Personally, would I want to do that? I'm an economist by training, and I have been in the public service for 23 years, so of course I have an opinion on that. Can I actually do that under the enabling legislation though? I don't think so. My mandate is limited to estimating the

Government Operations committee  Thank you.

Government Operations committee  That's a very good question. I wish they were, but it will depend on a couple of factors: number one, the number of requests that will be addressed to me in my office and, number two, the timelines through which these will be submitted to me in my office. For example, if somebod