Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's statement is unfounded, completely unfounded. I raised the issue with the minister first, before bringing it to Cabinet. I think this was more than a month before Mr. Beatty's appointment.
I think that the hon. member's information-Long before the budget was tabled, Mr. Manera had asked to be replaced for personal reasons. He called us weeks before the budget was tabled to say that he wanted to leave for reasons of his own and that his resignation had nothing to do with the budget. He actually handed in his resignation before the budget was even tabled.