Mr. Speaker, I got so caught up in this that I went a little overboard.
However, the hon. leader of the Reform Party suggested that he wanted to unite the party. In other words, he wants to take the old right wing party, the Progressive Conservative Party, put in a new leader in, the present leader of the Reform Party, and call it the Reform Party.
I have some problems with that. I have some problems with how day by day, month by month, year by year the policies of the parties opposite change dramatically. There is good reason that has occurred.
When it comes right down to it, we have been extremely successful at turning the economy of this country around. We have been extremely responsible in our actions toward small business, in our actions toward business in general in this country and in our actions toward preparing for any problems in the future. We are not leaving it to chance, pulling the support out and running at a full run.
Can anyone think of any reason the finance minister of this country would be prepared to do anything that would not be beneficial to the business of this country? Clearly he is working. He is consulting. He is getting input from people right across this country on a regular basis.
He knows that the smoother the ride the better the opportunities will be for business to compete. The better prepared workers are for any ups or downs in the economy, the better off this country will be. Stability is really the key.
Our finance minister has brought stability to this country. He has stabilized our finances so that other countries are now looking at Canada and saying “What a remarkable transition. What a remarkable change has occurred”.
Canada was really at the bottom of the G-7 as far as its economic outlook and prosperity for the future because of its spending. We are now envied by everyone. Canada was struggling, but we now have a positive, well-prepared structure for the future.
The Prime Minister pointed out just a short time ago, before we eliminated the deficit, to all members of the House that governing gets tougher and tougher as we pay down the debt, as we pay down the deficit and move toward the situation where we have positive moneys coming in because quickly the opposition will latch on to spending. That is what I am hearing now. The opposition is saying that we should spend, cut taxes and do things which will alter the whole economic structure of this country.