Mr. Speaker, I guess I do not expect a Liberal member to accept those numbers.
I invite Canadians to examine the Liberal numbers and the numbers I put forward and make their own judgment. At the end of the day it is not the hon. member's money and it not my money. It is not even the money of any party in the House. It is Canadians' money and they have a right to have a very clear and thoughtful analysis of the real numbers they have to work with.
Canadians may accept the Liberal numbers, which I am sure the Liberals will defend to the death. They may accept the numbers that we put forward because they are the result of a thoughtful and careful analysis. I am simply putting them out in debate because at the end of the day we are only leading the debate. Canadians will have to make the decision on whether their interests have been well-served by the budget and by the government or whether there are other factors which the opposition is bound in duty to bring out that would lead to far different conclusions than what the government would like to urge on them.
We know the government will put the best face on its budget. Why would it not? It spends a lot of time and effort writing a budget that sounds like we are getting the best thing since sliced bread. All the opposition is saying, in as credible, thoughtful and sustainable a way as possible, is that there are other factors and other ways to characterize this that need to be taken into account. At the end of the day I invite Canadians to make their own decision.