Mr. Speaker, the point raised by the hon. member is a valid one.
It is simply nonsense to make our social programs the scapegoat for the deficit. The reason we have a very high deficit is unfortunately the curse of compound interest, the fact that successive governments have allowed that debt to build up too high.
The government is now stuck with a terrible problem. It is not a question of ideology but a question of arithmetic. The member's question is very well taken.