Mr. Speaker, the minister in his speech gave an open challenge to members to point out and compare the fiscal situation of Canada to other G-7 countries. I will do that.
Canada's debt to GDP ratio is the second worst of the G-7, second only to Italy, yet this government is continuing to add to that debt every year into the foreseeable future. There is no deadline set by the government to stop adding to the debt. This ever increasing debt is the biggest threat to health care and to other important programs in Canada. In this government's first budget it added over $10 billion in interest payments just to service the debt yet the debt continues to go up. I do not understand how the minister can sound so smug about the government's progress to date.
When will the government stop adding to the debt and to the ever increasing interest payments on the debt?