We've had some witnesses say that if we went from a mixed system to a monopolistic system run by government, on day one we would have to come up with $16.7 billion.
What I'm challenged with as a Conservative—we're looking at government spending right now—is that the Liberal government had what they called a modest deficit of $10 billion. That's what was promised. I think the deficit is about three times that size. I think your office even said that with the spending going on, these things could be unsustainable and that we have to look at how we're going to fund any new program spending.
We're not seeing a lot of benefit from increased spending. We're getting numbers showing that unemployment is at an all-time high. Businesses are going elsewhere. If we want to implement this monopolistic type of system, then how do we pay for it?
Based on he current fiscal situation, which you are very much aware of, can our country afford a monopolistic government-run system that may be costing us $16.6 billion more per year?