Mr. Speaker, partially unveiling its plan to reduce its contribution to the financing of social programs, the government carefully avoided revealing in its discussion paper the extent of the cuts it intends to impose on the needy in order to reduce its deficit. But thanks to yesterday's Toronto Star , we now know that a confidential memorandum to Cabinet sets the amount of additional cuts in social programs at $7.5 billion over the next five years.
My question is for the Prime Minister. How can the people take seriously the consultation process that is about to begin when the government did not tell them that its decision had already been made and that regardless of the consultation, it will cut social programs by at least another $7.5 billion in the next five years?