Mr. Speaker, Canadians breathed a sigh of relief once again after the tabling of our finance minister's budget. Our government's third budget does not contain any individual or corporate tax increases. According to the minister's forecast, the federal deficit will be $17 billion or 2 per cent of the GDP for the 1997-98 fiscal year.
The Minister of Finance has shown that it is possible to manage public finances strictly without increasing the taxpayers' burden in order to secure a better future for all Canadians.