Mr. Speaker, I do not have to dance around it at all. When the government was elected in 1993 it inherited a $42 billion deficit. I said in my remarks, and the hon. member can look it up if he wants to, that changes absolutely had to be made in the transfer payments and they were made. There is no argument about that.
This is about restoring it to the level we are committed to, a level that it will never fall below. You understand that you cannot simply continue to spend money you do not have. It is a philosophy of the government. It is the leadership shown by the finance minister and the prime minister. It is turning things around but the job is not done. There is a long way to go.
I am convinced that with this next budget and with bills like Bill C-28 we will save our health care system, restore the confidence of the Canadian people in our education including post-secondary education, and build a great nation.