Madam Speaker, I think I will include some of the very favourable remarks of the hon. member opposite in my next householder.
Yes, being a Liberal I am somewhat confident. There is confidence out there in the general population that the Liberals can deliver. The minister said it very clearly when he said that he would bring the deficit from a high of 6 per cent down to approximately 3 per cent of GNP within the next three years. This is something we are striving to do.
Of course it will not be done without any pain. We might be talking about short term pain for long term gain. We are not going to cut indiscriminately in every area. We still have social
conscience on this side of the House. I believe it still exists among certain members on the benches opposite.
After hearing what the member told me earlier I am convinced a number of the members will recognize the efforts made by the government to decrease the deficit and to make sure that we eliminate the deficit by some time at the beginning of the turn of the century.
It will be a long term process. This is what we have to prove to outside investors and Canadian investors. Canadians are expecting us to make sure that we come out with a reasonable budget, given the situation we are faced with, so that we can look at the future with hope and encouragement, thanks to the first steps taken by the Minister of Finance. In the next few weeks the course will be set.