Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Elk Island.
It is a pleasure to address the House on the budget once again. I will start by putting things in context. Many speakers have stood up today and pointed to the size of the debt. It is critical that we put this whole debate back in context.
We have huge debt in this country. It is unparalleled in the world for the size of the country. Our debt today stands at $578 billion. We are paying somewhere in the range of $47 billion a year in interest payments on that debt which will rise to almost $50 billion before the end of the government's mandate. The issue is important considering the context.
The GST was not in the budget but the Liberals have frequently promised to discuss it, even as late as last summer. During the election campaign hon. members across the way campaigned door to door saying that the GST would be history if the Liberals were elected. I do not have to tell Canadians that is not the case today. The GST is still with us despite what the Deputy Prime Minister said on national television 10 days before the last election. She said: "I will resign if the GST is not abolished."
The Prime Minister and the finance minister said similar things. They said that it would be gone, that it would be scrapped. "I hate it. I will kill it." Those are the sorts of things that they said during the election campaign.