Mr. Speaker, it is budget time and with all the rhetoric around the tax and spending plans of the Liberals of our money, in other words the people's money, the money and the wealth created by Canadians, not the government, with all this talk people sometimes become fed up and rather cynical.
What flows from that is the notion of average Canadians that the government always paints a rather rosy picture. When was the last time we heard a federal Conservative or Liberal government admit that things were not very rosy? Canadians then just tune out. They tune out of the budget debate. They tune out of all the commentary about finances. They say "The government brags and so we really cannot listen to them. We have the Bloc and it seems to always resort to rather self-centred whining about how hard done by Quebec is. It is always the message from the separatists of wanting". Quite frequently they use the word demanding.
Opposition parties have an obligation to compliment the government when the government goes in the right direction. When it comes to being critical the opposition must go beyond just cynicism and criticism but offer practical, credible alternatives that can stand the test of public examination.
I put it to the member of the Bloc, and he is being very negative in his tone, what are his solutions to contribute to Canada? What is the Bloc prepared to do to make Canada work rather than opt out? What is the member prepared to offer as a fiscal alternative to help all of Canada, including Canadians in Quebec, rather than just complaining and offering to opt out?