Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Verner, for coming here.
Before asking my question, I wish to clarify a few things. Since I am the third Liberal to speak, I have the opportunity to come back to certain comments some of my colleagues did not have time to make.
Earlier, my colleague, Mr. Raymond Simard, talked about budget cutbacks. You pointed out that it was the Liberal government that had made those cutbacks. I simply want to point out, Minister Verner, that the Liberal government was forced to make those cutbacks because we were running a $42.5 billion deficit—