Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. Respectfully, the government is not of the view that its spending has, in fact, had those results. Paul Vieira reported that the economists at Desjardins Securities were quite clear in their analysis of the budget that the spending announced in the budget was not especially inflationary.

It is true that Canadians are suffering from high mortgage costs and high interest rates. This is a function of factors that go far beyond the government’s spending. Again, in the interest of respecting that my answers be short, I will refrain from citing all the examples that Mr. Vieira cited of why the economy of Canada is on a very sustainable and good track, despite the problems.