Madam Speaker, I listened with some interest to the comments made by the hon. member. He talked about the performance of the government with respect to the debt. It is important to again state very clearly for the record that it is because of the actions of the government that the debt is on a downward track. The government is committed to reducing the debt to GDP ratio. It will eliminate the deficit in 1998-99.
The member is speaking as if the government has just put the country into a big black hole. We are moving out. We are moving into the next century, but the member wants to continue to talk about the misspending of the government.
I want to draw an analogy on which I invite the hon. member to comment. If a person pays off a mortgage but never fixes the plumbing or the roof, I am not sure that person will have a house to live in at the end of 25 years. It is the same with a country. We need to reinvest in the priorities. We have set what those priorities are and we will continue to adhere to our plan.
I want the member to acknowledge that we are on a more prosperous track.