Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I think we're all making our points here this afternoon, and it must be because it's one of our last sessions.
Ms. Wasylycia-Leis continues to talk about the reduction in expenditures that we made in the last month. One of the things she doesn't refer to is an over 5% increase in this year's spending and this year's budget allocated to a number of priorities, including post-secondary education, affordable housing, overseas development assistance, improving a public transit system, and $16.5 billion in infrastructure. This budget obviously goes in the right way, and if Bill C-48 wasn't bad in terms of where the money was going, obviously you would support the increase in expenditures that we had to do.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that we actually find now that even though we're finding ways to cut taxes and making sure working families have the ability to keep a little more of the income they earn, we actually have some extra money--so far, at least--in this year's budget. Obviously, positive things are happening in the country. So I hope you're not all thinking that because of what you're hearing across the way, it's doom and gloom; it's actually very positive.
Mr. Seiling, I look forward to the two hours that we're going to actually spend reviewing the issue you've put forward. It's something that is obviously going to get the finance committee's attention, and I appreciate that.
I know Mr. McCallum was responsible, as he sort of headed up the expenditure review for the Liberal Party and the Liberal government over the last number of years, and he continues to talk about the $11 billion in savings that they found. We've often been trying to see where it was. Well, I found it. At least, I found some of it. The $100 million you received in 2001, you've actually been cut by 25%. Mr. McKay is absolutely right when he says you've been hit from all sides. The thing that interests me about this is that that cut is directly to the services you deliver. I understand the reduction we made is a reduction and it has an indirect impact on you. But the fact that you've been cut by 25% since 2001, I think speaks volumes to the investment, or at least the consideration that the former government gave to tourism in this country. Could you comment?