Each of the measures has its limitation. For me, the biggest drawback to the LICO, which we've used since the 1960s, is the fact that it lumps the large cities together, because of the survey it used to calculate its threshold. It doesn't have a sample size to be able to provide us more geographical breakdown. But we know shelter costs are quite different between Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. For me, that's the biggest drawback. However, it has a history since 1976, so at least you can monitor trends and see how they evolved. So the MBM, in that context, provides us more geographical breakdown, which I think is a better thing.
One of the drawbacks for the MBM is the fact that it goes back only to the year 2000. So it's a limitation if you're looking at previous time cycles. You can go back to the year 2000 only, which is why we produced the two measures, so it gives you an idea of where they're giving the same message and where they're different.
For Statistics Canada, the MBM is more complex to calculate. It's easier to explain to users, but it's more complex to calculate. But that's our own problem.
The LIM, with the international standards, doesn't move as much with the economic cycle, so some people have a problem with that. When you have higher unemployment, a measure linked to inflation will reflect some of these economic hardships. The LIM, because it's based on the median, doesn't tend to move as much.
What we see more and more in a number of countries is that they actually look at a suite of measures. That's what Frank has measured. I think you eventually want to look at maybe not just one but a few measures, to understand the strengths of each of them and how they complement each other.
Something else that is happening internationally that's linked to the question from Mr. Lessard is questions on material deprivation. Income is not everything. In our income concept, if you receive a large inheritance, it might help your well-being, but it may not be measured in your total income. So wealth does matter to your well-being. Some people ask about some material deprivation in conjunction with income to try to have a fuller picture.
We're starting to look at these measures, but we haven't done much yet on that.