The question the authors pose is whether we have the wherewithal to finish the job." DEREK BURNEY, former Canadian Ambassador to the US "This timely and provocative book will remind Canadians that the smart fiscal and trade policies pursued. [...] My inestimable co-authors Jason Clemens and Niels Veldhuis and I therefore wrote a book to piece it together for our fellow Canadians, reviewing the reforms in detail and putting them in the context of Canada's long tradition of fiscal discipline and how the abandonment of that tradition had gotten us into the mess in the first place. [...] The federal debt held by the public escalated rapidly due to the large budget deficits since the onset. [...] Federal Entitlements One of the main difficulties in turning around the long-term fiscal condition of the United States government is the unsustainable current structure of entitlement. [...] The budget plan included a host of concrete actions such as • a substantial reduction in the size of the federal government - spending and employees - to reduce the deficit; • reform of government programs with an increased focus on efficiency; • reform and a reduction of the employment insurance (EI) program; • substantial reductions in business subsidies; and • restructured and reduced provincia.