Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.
The federal budget does not appear capable of putting our public finances in order, considering that it foresees a record-high deficit of nearly $40 billion, does not address the numerous instances of squandering brought to light by the Auditor General and rests on unrealistic revenue assumptions.
In the meantime, the pitiful state of our public finances requires an additional risk premium to be paid on interest rates, a premium which could cost the federal government as much as $5 billion a year.
Does the minister not realize that his lack of credibility with the international markets in the fight to curb the deficit is the direct cause of this $5 billion surcharge in interest costs to the Canadian taxpayers?