Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to respond to those terrible distortions of what is happening with the Reform Party.
I am amused and in disbelief that member of government, a parliamentary secretary, would ask: "Where's the beef?". The government has had no beef for one full year after working away. It has no beef at all in its social program reform. It has no beef at all in a plan to balance the budget or even get it down to its feeble target of 3 per cent of GDP. I would have thought the parliamentary secretary would be standing up telling Canadian people where their beef is, not demanding that a third party supply him with the beef.
If the member wants to see some beef, perhaps he should look at the plans put forward by the Reform Party and tabled in the House. For the benefit of the government perhaps he should get a report on the consultations of our party with his finance minister to try to give him a bit of hand holding in coming up with a sensible plan to do what he is supposed to do. Those concrete proposals were put forward by a brand new third party of 52 green, untried MPs, and the government still says: "You tell us what to do".
This party is going to have a plan ready to give the Canadian people and to run the country in the proper way after the next election.
The member talked about town hall meetings. It is interesting to note that just last evening the Liberal Party imitated Reform's electronic town hall by trying to get out and consult with the people. We have led the way in public consultation and in innovative ways to get the true input of Canadian people. We are delighted the government is catching on that this needs to be done, but I certainly think it is inappropriate for the member opposite to suggest that somehow our electronic consultations are not working when his party is aping them or imitating them. That does not quite make sense to me.
I might add the consultations that have been done with the Canadian public have given valuable input not only to our party but to the governing party. I hope he is paying attention to what is being said in those consultations.