Mr. Speaker, I enjoyed the presentation by the member opposite.
I would like to know whether there is any long term goal on the part of this federal government. We have been hearing from this budgetary process that the goal is to reduce the deficit to 3 per cent of GDP. However, we have tried and have not been able to elicit a response from the minister or the Prime Minister on the question of where do we go past that.
In doing the mathematics, I think I used 3 per cent in my projections of increase in productivity in the country. Hence there is a 3 per cent annual increase in GDP, hence an increase of 3 per cent per year in the amount of the deficit which means that perpetually we add to and increase the debt. We are adding up the interest and as the interest adds to it, the principal value of the debt increases. As a result, the interest payment in absolute dollars is higher and higher every year. Using that model, by the year 2011 our debt will have reached $1 trillion.
Does the member know or has heard any of his colleagues on that side of the House indicate anything more concrete in terms of a long term goal than this very fuzzy 3 per cent, for the time being let us slow down how fast we go into debt, but after that let it increase again?