Mr. Speaker, I am slightly bemused because I did exactly that. I heard the Speaker has a written speech that he uses asking for specific information from members, because he asked the identical question of the member from my party who spoke last time.
I gave him a specific example. I can give him a number of specific examples. I would refer him first to the budget document from last February in which the Minister of Finance detailed specific reductions in the Human Resources Development portfolio. I can refer him to many speeches and statements by the Minister of Human Resources Development talking about a restructuring of the $38 billion social service envelope. I can refer him to the framework document that the Minister of Finance brought down earlier this week.
These are grand discussions, these are huge programs that affect millions and millions of Canadians and I find it very difficult to understand how any member could stand up and wipe out the benefits for millions and millions of people without any thought and discussion.
What we are proposing to do and what we are doing is taking a very difficult debate to the people of this country and asking them to participate in an exercise that is going to be painful for all of us. We are not deciding that in this Chamber based on a few throwaway comments from a few members.
I really find this debate right now very difficult when a member stands up and so quickly and so easily asks to deprive seniors of their pensions, or to deprive UI recipients of their benefits. I find this intolerable.
I would like to see from that party some specific suggestions that take into account the nature of this country. You cannot do what this member just suggested with UI without bankrupting some of the provinces. He should stop and think a bit before he starts carrying that debate forward to the public.