Mr. Speaker, as the member for Calgary West just pointed out, there is absolutely no end to the innovative ways the government gets to spend money. It just seems to keep on doing that.
When I was in Australia and New Zealand I found that they, because New Zealand hit the wall and we almost hit the wall too, had to focus their government spending and ensure that every penny they spent was productive, focused and provided a benefit for their citizens. On that basis, they created accrual accounting, balance sheets, clear results and focused spending.
On that basis, if we were to apply the same rigour and discipline to our spending, I am sure tens of billions of dollars could be shaved from the government's spending with no real impact on the economy.
It has taken 15 years from the time it made the decision in 1989 to move this way and 2004 before it is to implement phase I. It will be 2025 before it gets it finished perhaps if it is still in office. Of course it will be long gone by then. The point is that every day we waste is money wasted too.