Madam Speaker, in answer to the first question, I was on duty all day today. I paid $76 for my lunch today. How much did the hon. member pay?
I think these are piddly little things that we bring in as red herrings to take us off the real issue. The real issue here is developing an independent Canadian foreign policy, not whether we are spending $2 or $5 on our lunch. I do not want a free lunch. I happened to take some of my constituents out for lunch today to the tune of $76.
As I say, let us not waste taxpayers' money by pulling in these little red herrings to deflect us from the real issue.
The second question is the real issue and if he would look at our budget we are trying to reduce the deficit. We are trying to reduce the public debt but gradually so not to hurt Canadians too much.
If he looks closely at the budget over the next three years we will be reducing the deficit by over $3 billion just in the way we are operating the government.
In the PMO and in the ministers' offices, et cetera, I feel the pinch now. I was parliamentary secretary in the 1980s and when I became parliamentary secretary I received additional staff and resources. Right now I am not receiving anything extra.
When the Prime Minister told me to go to Hungary to represent Canada at a state funeral because its Prime Minister suddenly passed away, I was a one person delegation. Normally there would be three people representing each party. I was a one person delegation. We cannot run government any leaner than that.
A month later the minister asked me to go to Norway for another state funeral. I was a one person delegation.
I went to the inauguration in Honduras. I could not even take my wife. It was embarrassing because representatives from all the countries were there with their spouses being presented to the president. I was there all alone, a one person delegation.
If the Reform Party cannot accept that I would say it is at the wrong level. It had better go to municipal politics because it does not know what international politics is all about.