Madam Speaker, if the hon. member is suggesting that I do not grasp the concept of risk, he is badly mistaken. In fact, one of my main arguments is that, if he claims that past pension deficits were absorbed by the federal government, then the President of the Treasury Board should table the figures. According to our calculations, the federal government's contribution in that respect is around $5 billion.
So, given a contribution of $5 billion and an anticipated actuarial surplus of $30 billion, this leaves some $25 billion that does not fully belong to the government; this amount belongs equally to taxpayers and the government. This is why we are advocating a collegial approach to managing the funds and related risk, instead of the dictatorial approach proposed by the President of the Treasury Board through Bill C-78.
I clearly understand the concept of sharing risk. In fact, when I did my masters in university, part of my thesis dealt with that issue.