Mr. Speaker, once again these are questions I am glad to answer. In my own campaign in Hull and Aylmer I indicated-the speeches and the transcripts are there for you see-the government would have to be downsized.
I was criticized by part of the electorate but in the end this was not hypocritical, this was the truth. It was told government had to downsize. Knowing the truth, it elected me with more than 53 per cent of the vote in the area. It knew what it was facing and agreed this had to be done.
On the second question, we have here two objectives that have to be realized. The first one is that equity in its largest sense has to be satisfied. There is no doubt that we have to apply equity when we do any move in government, including restructuring government.
However, it is quite clear, and this is what I indicated to the Sun yesterday, when we make an exercise like that in a government, the managers who have the responsibility to manage that department will make the choices according to merit and ability that will keep with them the best civil servants.
There is no doubt also that whatever the categories of people, by sex or creed or colour, merit is distributed very equally in the population and that heads of personnel will come to a result that I am sure will conform to the principles of equity.