Mr. Speaker, I think he has been kissing the blarney stone too much.
We obtained a list of all ACOA grants, contributions and loans from 1996 to 1999. There was a dramatic increase before and during the 1997 election writ period. Average monthly spending jumped from $30 million to $54 million just before the election and to a high of $71 million by the end of the campaign. It is plain and simple. It is just like the transitional jobs fund. The Liberals spent the bank in the lead up to the last federal election.
Why did the government find so many ways to spend so much money in the lead up to the last federal election?