I'm just really pleased that you're here, Mr. Page.
When you do get down to some of the information you need, I think you're going to find there was a tendency to use this free-for-all spending.... No one can deny that billions of dollars were flying out the door at breakneck speed, at unprecedented breakneck speed, because in all the years I've been an MP, it's been a period of belt-tightening and cutbacks—anything but spending. So one would be silly not to acknowledge the room for abuse when that kind of money is flying out the door at that rate of speed. I'm not implying that anybody is lining their pockets; I'm not implying anybody is stealing or even misusing money. But the ways of spending that money to political advantage are irresistible, I believe, and I think we're going to find that the money has been sprinkled around in a partisan way to advantage certain areas, and that the outcomes are in fact questionable.
Maybe I do have one specific question, sir. Some of the stimulus package involves EI. The federal government doesn't pay into EI; it isn't their money. Do you believe that should be part of the equation in terms of the economic stimulus package? The money from the EI fund is contributed by employers and employees. The federal government hasn't contributed since 1985 or 1986, when Mulroney changed that. Is it being transparent to have EI factored in?