Mr. Speaker, I am a little surprised at the question. I can understand perhaps why the Globe and Mail showed such a lamentable lack of understanding of the accounting principles by which the Government of Canada operates, but I would have thought that perhaps the hon. member opposite would have.
Let me just go through this. That editorial talks about destabilization claims: "$2.4 billion stabilization claims already received from the provinces". We are required to provide for those liabilities once they are known, which we have done. A $250 million provision for the helicopter cancellation is entirely in accordance with public sector accounting principles. The reductions in the defence budget will save $7 billion, thanks to the actions of the Minister of National Defence. The voluntary departure incentives are known, and when one knows of a liability one must record it. On the acceleration of the income tax refunds, surely the hon. member would not say that we should delay those refunds and give the money back to Canadians simply to not have that money come into this year's effort.
What we have done is exactly in accordance with the recommendations of the public accounts committee and exactly in accordance with the Auditor General's recommendations. I am sure the hon. member opposite would rather have us follow the dictates of the Auditor General than the dictates of the Globe and Mail .