Mr. Speaker, I will try to be as brief as possible because I know there are other individuals who would like to pose questions.
I want to reiterate that when the fiscal dividend emerges Canadians want action on three fronts. That is essentially what we heard from Canadians. They want action on debt reduction, action on investment in a stronger economy and a stronger society, and they want some tax relief.
Let me focus on the tax relief. When we look at securing the dividend submission by the Reform Party, it proposes a wide mix of tax measures that when mature will cost around $30 billion and foregone revenues will in fact increase by $4 billion each and every year. It actually underestimates the total cost of its package by $10 billion.
As a responsible government we do not have the luxury to be irresponsible much like the Reform Party. We have to ask ourselves a very basic question: Where is the $30 billion-plus coming from for tax cuts? The Reform Party does not fully answer this question in its prebudget document. Is it going to come from a reduction in health and education spending, in a reduction in benefits for families, or should we just walk away from the success that we have had and increase the deficit? Should we not go for a balanced budget?
We cannot afford as a responsible government to deal with issues much like the Reform Party because it has not done its numbers. I will give the Reform Party a calculator with batteries.