Mr. Speaker, the Bloc member is incorrect. For example, the 2004 budget was adopted by the House of Commons in four or six weeks. It can be done quite quickly, if members are willing.
One of the problems is that some of the members opposite do not understand the idea of a budgetary surplus. Once there is a budgetary surplus at the end of a fiscal year, which we have had now for seven years and going into our eighth, it is not a question of then spending the surplus. It is like a balance sheet.
I am a chartered accountant, myself, and I have trouble understanding these concepts.
However if there is a surplus at the end of the year it is not as if we can go and spend it. We start a new fiscal year. As I said earlier, having a budgetary surplus is a good thing because it means we can pay down some debt and help with Canada's debt to GDP ratio which is improving considerably. We are going to get down to about a 25% debt to GDP ratio very soon.