Mr. Speaker, year after year, the Bloc Quebecois has shown how the government is hiding the reality of public finances from the public.
Once again this year, our prediction of a budget surplus of $12 to $15 billion for 1998-99 is more realistic than the zero surplus announced by the Minister of Finance.
In fact, according to the latest financial review six months into this fiscal year, the surplus accumulated by the federal government has already reached $10.4 billion. The credibility of the Minister of Finance is getting pretty thin.
The government claims to be holding pre-budget consultations, but these are based on inaccurate information. Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance is maintaining his cuts in health and employment insurance, while secretly using the huge surplus just to pay down the debt. The people will be the judge of this.