Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Minister of Finance has announced that the deficit for the fiscal year which ended on March 31 of this year was $4.1 billion less than projected. Apparently, if conditions continue unchanged, the Canadian deficit will be completely eliminated by the year 2000.
In reaction to this, the Bloc Quebecois has chosen to continue to spread half-truths, saying, and I quote: "Once again you are going to hit the least well-off and go after the unemployment insurance fund".
On the other hand, Quebec minister Bernard Landry is delighted with the news, and has been quoted as saying: "Having said that, it is positive overall and the trend must continue".
How can the Bloc Quebecois continue its unfair criticism of our strategy to tackle the deficit, when its boss, the PQ, is congratulating us on our work and offering us public support. If things continue in this vein, their presence in Ottawa will be hard to justify, particularly when the next election comes around.