One of the things that member will learn is that when other people are speaking, he should allow them to speak. That is democracy. It is also something his party should be promoting.
Let us be clear. We cut transfers to the province of Ontario by $1.2 billion. The tax cut put in by Mike Harris cut his revenues by $4.9 billion. It was on the backs of the most vulnerable people in Ontario. This year, at the first opportunity, we in the federal government restored funding to the social transfers to the tune of over $300 million and it will grow over the years. Over the next six years it will grow to the tune of $7 billion.
I see young Reformers stand in the House to say “do not spend money because it comes out of the pockets of taxpayers”. I decided to look up some of the CVs of the members of the Reform Party. The member for Calgary West attended the University of Calgary for all of four years to get his degree. During that time the money he contributed to his education through tuition was $11,600. The actual cost of that education was $50,877.19. Almost $40,000 was contributed by the taxpayers of the country.
When that member talks about spending on education he should support the efforts of the government because we are investing in the development of our future generations.