Mr. Speaker, in listening to my hon. friend I do not know whether he is going forward or backward. He does give me the impression that he is definitely going backward.
Unfortunately there are some things I have to agree with. He does speak to the fact that this government has not really been firm enough in reducing the deficit which is already astronomical. It does not take a rocket scientist to recognize that the longer we delay in resolving the issue, the more pressure we are putting on future generations.
It is the youth of this country who will have to pay. We are being nice to ourselves by not really being more firm but that is where I do not agree with this hon. member. I do not share his lack of feeling and lack of compassion toward people who are getting the screw when there is latitude to demand for example that the banks contribute a bit more.
Would my hon. friend agree with me that it is unfair to ask that banks in Canada contribute $100 million over the next couple of years when we know they have been making incredible profits over the past few years? The Royal Bank last year made $1.2 billion net profit. We are asking these banks to contribute only $100 million and we are cutting and slashing social programs. Does he think that is fair?