Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the comments of the member for Annapolis Valley-Hants.
Naturally, since he is on the government side, he is trying very hard to sell that budget to Canadians.
I would like to ask if he feels comfortable knowing that the Minister of Finance's deficit reduction, his great accomplishment, has been achieved thanks to the $5 billion cuts in unemployment insurance and the $4.5 billion cuts in transfers to the provinces.
He speaks about the measures implemented by the government, but we say they are a mere pittance, nothing but election goodies. He speaks about farm credit, but I must remind the House that farm credit does not mean grants; it means credit and therefore, debt. The figures represent loans and not costs for the government. The government simply makes the money available, but the amounts have to be paid back.
As far as students are concerned, I was in charge of the youth portfolio until a few months ago and I can tell the House the situation for young people is appalling; they are loaded down with debts. What measures is the government taking? It is giving the students more time before they have to start paying back their loans. That will not solve the problem of student debt, it will not help reduce the high number of student bankruptcies in Canada. There is something missing and that something is job creation.
I wonder if the member is comfortable with that idea. He comes from a rural area and he must realize that, in the end, most of the cuts were made at the expense of the provinces and the needy.