Mr. Speaker, relative to the points and concerns made by my hon. colleague across the way, I should say first of all that I am not sure how the Reform Party set its goals low as he has suggested. However the Liberal way is to set goals that are a challenge, yet goals that are achievable even though they may be somewhat difficult to achieve. We as a Liberal government have set those goals and we will achieve them, as everyone well knows.
I agree with my hon. colleague across the way that no question, when talking about compound interest, it is a wonderful thing when you are receiving it or if you have dollars to invest and can receive it. It multiplies day in and day out and is a wonderful thing. He is absolutely right. It is a terrible thing when it is the other way around and you are paying your debts. Whether it be us in our private lives, or business, or certainly as government, there is no question it is a terrible thing.
Those goals have to be set and we have to meet those goals and those challenges each step of the way as we go along. In this case we will meet our first goal of reaching 3 per cent of the gross domestic product. Our next goal will be on a balanced budget. Following that, we will break the back of this country's debt. We will take hold of these finances for years and years to come.