Mr. Speaker, part way through the member's speech, I think he said that we, on the governing side, had a questionable approach to finances and bookkeeping.
I find it odd that the member would talk about questionable bookkeeping. This country was faced with a massive deficit of $42 billion in 1993 because of the mess left by this member's party. For him to talk along those lines is outrageous at best and ridiculous at most.
I also listened with intent while he was talking about EI. I noted that it was in 1986 when the then auditor general indicated that in fact that money was to be part of the consolidated revenue. That, again, was during the tenure of the member's party. I am not sure what point the member was trying to make, but he knows full well that the rules we operate under are the rules that have been set out by the auditor general.
When it comes to appointments to boards and commissions, there was no one in the history of this country who was better than his party leader, Mr. Mulroney, when it came to appointments and patronage. I can tell members that Canadians still look fondly upon Mr. Mulroney as the king of patronage, bar none, when it comes to those kinds of issues.
This is an excellent piece of legislation despite what the hon. member says about trying to stir up and upset seniors over whether or not their pensions are guaranteed. The member knows full well that they are. It is important for us to indicate to our pensioners and senior population that they are not going to get any more, but they are also not going to get any less. We have that guarantee for them in place.
I was interested in the member's comments on the foreign content rule. Could he perhaps elaborate a little further on why he thinks there should not be at least some portion of investment here in Canada? Does he think it should be wide open and go far beyond other jurisdictions? I thought I heard him say that. What does he have against investments in Canada? I would be interested in his comments.