Mr. Speaker, we are very conscious of the seriousness of the financial situation in which Canada finds itself with the debt and the deficit.
There is no doubt that in the budget we have embarked upon cuts that are necessary for us to bring our deficit within an acceptable range in the next three years, certainly the target we have set out.
At the same time it is very important to understand-and the Minister of Human Resources Development has been explicit and very articulate on this matter as have the Minister of National Defence and a number of other ministers in the House-that we are Liberals. We understand the absolute necessity of public policy evolving along with the needs of the country.
The purposes of those studies are not simply cuts to bring the deficit into line. They are in fact fundamental reforms in those programs so that Canada can measure up to the very serious challenges that lie outside our borders.