Madam Speaker, I would like to set a number of facts straight. For the first five months of the year the surplus was already at $11 billion.
Even with negative growth of minus 2% for the rest of the year, which is a very conservative forecast, the surplus will still reach $13 billion.
The hon. member suggested we may not have the kind of money necessary to stimulate the economy. Does he not realize that all things considered it would be better to adopt the Bloc's position? We proposed a plan that would put $5 billion into the economy to help it get back on its feet.
We heard about helping the elderly. We do not need a budget measure for that. We know that over 182,000 senior citizens are not receiving the guaranteed income supplement simply because they are denied this supplement even though they are eligible. Does the hon. member not think that his government should rectify this situation as soon as possible?