If you do not listen, you might as well be deaf. I would submit that the opposition benches are deaf, completely deaf. Their hearing has gone faulty.
I say that because we have said many times that the red book of the Liberal Party laid out a vision. For example, the red book made it very clear we would aim for and achieve a deficit of 3 per cent of GDP by 1997. The Minister of Finance, after the red book, after our election victory of a year ago, built on that vision by producing a budget. The budget reiterated our absolute unshakeable target of 3 per cent of GDP by 1997.
The finance minister laid out a strategy in the budget and it continues. Part of the strategy is an unprecedented set of consultations that will begin almost immediately. The minister through the medium of the finance committee will be consulting Canadians from coast to coast on how best to achieve the target of 3 per cent of GDP. Can there be anything more democratic? Can there be anything more consultative than that?
I wanted to lay that out because it seems that the opposition parties do not want to listen. Canadians are going to participate. Canadians are going to join in achieving the target of 3 per cent of GDP. That is my comment. If the previous speaker wants to respond to it, be my guest.