Mr. Speaker, I am dismayed to hear the parliamentary secretary speak about a government budget defended by building strawmen to hack down. Is that all this budget is about?
He talks about what Reform has done. It is the Liberals who have hacked billions out of our social programs, out of our health care system and then before an election gives back a few thousand. That is the nature of this budget and that is why we are so disappointed.
In terms of health care there is not going to be any improvement from this budget in the six hospitals in my constituency nor in the hospitals in the outlying areas. This is a shadow budget.
The parliamentary secretary spoke about the friends of Reform and that Reformers want to reduce spending for their friends. That is true. But let me tell the House who our friends are.
Our friends are the ordinary Canadian people who want jobs, who want medical care when they need it, who want the freedom and opportunity to earn their living and to enjoy the fruits of their labour. Our friends are the Canadian people who reject the Liberal determination that the government can care for them, can take care of capable people better than those same capable people can take care of themselves. These are our friends. It is true that we want to reduce spending on their behalf.
Why does the government continue to promote the philosophical idea with the budget that Canadians must continually sacrifice and serve the needs of government when what they need is a government that will simply and unobtrusively serve the Canadian people?