Jeff Greenberg Main Points 5.1 Persistent deficits and growing debt have been part of the government's financial condition for two decades.
Hard choices lie ahead.
We hope this chapter will help to explain why. 5.2 Canadians need a better understanding of what deficits and debt mean. Part of this learning process includes understanding the elements that make up the federal deficit and debt. We also explain some of the practical difficulties of deficit reduction plans - both those that scale back expenditures and those that increase revenues. In the chapter, we suggest five simple indicators of financial condition and call on the government to report them in a consistent manner from one year to the next.