Mr. Speaker, in my opinion, we are talking about two contradictory things, because the Bloc Quebecois member is insisting that the government increase its transfers to the provinces.
At the same time they argue that we should be reducing the debt. I can tell the House that our government is balanced in its approach. With respect to the debt, I think something Canadians should understand is that we do have a significant amount of debt.
What the hon. member is forgetting is that when the economy improves so does the percentage of the debt in relation to the size of the economy.
Since we have been in government the debt in relation to the GDP has been reduced from 71% to 63%. It will go further down and it will reach 50% in the next three or four years.
I liken it to when people first purchase a house and take a mortgage, those of us who have been able to do so. In the first stages they look at the mortgage in relation to their income. As their income grows, in those cases where it does, they are able to carry a higher mortgage
Yes, we are concerned with the debt, but we are managing the debt in the context of a growing economy and the capacity of the economy to sustain that debt. If we suddenly paid down a huge amount on the debt it could actually have a dampening effect on the economy. We want to continue the sustained growth in the last quarter of 4.3% real growth in the economy of Canada.