Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. Perhaps I was not here earlier today, but I think that the member did not follow or understand properly what I said concerning the infrastructure program. I did not say that the infrastructure program was not a good thing, I did not say it did not create job, what I said is that if that program created only 44,000 jobs, according to the member, with a $6 billion investment, I believe the $50 billion now spent on the interest on the debt would create a lot more of them. The difference is that these $50 billion that could now be invested in job creation would not have to be reimbursed. The $6 billion spent on the infrastructure program must be reimbursed. Some municipalities got in debt to do this work and will have to pay back what they borrowed.
That is what I was thinking when I said that, had we not accumulated such a debt through so much waste and duplication, had we simply respected the principle agreed upon in 1867 by the Fathers of Confederation, that is one level of government in charge of national and international activities leaving management of provincial activities to the provinces, we would not be in such a
predicament now. At present, we are in gridlock. We spent $10 billion on national symbols that are now resold for next to nothing.
That is the simple explanation, in my estimation. The $50 billion would have enabled us to create so many jobs, but now that amount is a burden instead, generating the unemployment we now experience.