Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the hon. gentleman giving credit where credit is due to the Progressive Conservative Party in trying to balance the budget. It was Mr. Trudeau, if we go back in time, who took the deficit from $18 billion to $200 billion. That is quite a multiple. Certainly, as I said, there was a blueprint that was put into place.
Let us talk about the CHST. In the government's own documents that have been tabled, the CHST for 1999-2000 is $29.4 billion. It will rise to $32.7 billion with the increase from a previous budget of $2 billion and $2.5 billion a year in 2001 and 2002, and the $500 million in previous years.
The health care system still will have less money in it in the year 2004 than it had previously. It does not matter which numbers we look at when we take into consideration the inflationary factors as well as the aged in our communities.
Does the hon. member not recognize that we have an aging population that will put more demands on the health care system? The government says constantly that money is not the necessary answer to the health care system. Possibly, but money is needed because there are more people accessing the system. If only the government could understand that perhaps its priorities could be put into the right area as opposed to the wrong areas.
I will have an opportunity to sit on that side in the not too distant future. The member for Chatham—Kent—Essex talked about the telephone booth and the two members. In 1984 the Liberals had 40 seats. History does repeat itself.