- Table of Contents - Next -

Foreword

This document contains four background annexes to the Economic and Fiscal Update presentation by Minister of Finance Ralph Goodale on November 16, 2004, to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance.

The annexes provide details on Canada's fiscal progress, economic developments and prospects, as well as private sector five-year economic and fiscal projections.

As in the past, four private sector forecasting organizations were asked to provide fiscal projections for the current year and the next five years, based on common economic assumptions obtained from a survey of 18 private sector economists.

This year's Update includes the following new features to further enhance transparency:

• Annex 3 includes the individual projections of the budgetary balance from the four forecasting organizations, as well as the average.
• Annex 4 provides the details of how the private sector fiscal projections, which were prepared on a National Accounts basis (the accounting system used by Statistics Canada and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), are translated to a Public Accounts basis, the accounting system used by the Government to present the budget.

- Table of Contents - Next -