Mr. Speaker, Guelph-Wellington residents wanted responsible deficit reduction and spending cuts and the Minister of Finance has responded.
They know it is easy to cry for cuts but more difficult to ensure that any deficit reduction is fair and equitable. The budget ensures fairness. They know it is easy to criticize, but more difficult to make the good and necessary decisions which the government has made. They know that it is easy to release figures and offer ideas based on principle rather than reality. Yesterday's budget recognizes that deficit reduction will affect the lives of real people.
The people of Guelph-Wellington are not looking for the easy solutions found in 1-900 numbers and cable programs. They believe in this country and our ability to overcome our problems. They want Canada to succeed. They wanted a tough budget. They wanted spending reductions. They wanted fairness. For their sake, we have delivered.