Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his remarks although he was stretching for relevance at times. He seems to have prided himself on the notion that there is not a deficit in the budget or in future years as presented in the budget.
Perhaps my hon. friend is not familiar with the basic rules of accounting. If he would care to examine the table at page 24 of the principal budget document he would find there is a deficit in the next fiscal year of 2002-03 if we use anything like the standard accounting practices enforced by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, the auditors general of Canada or the United States congress.
For instance, the finance minister has moved $2 billion of revenue from the current fiscal year into the future fiscal year to manufacture an ostensible surplus where there is an actual deficit. He also creates two new foundations, the likes of which have been repeatedly condemned by successive auditors general for lacking parliamentary accountability and scrutiny.
The budget virtually eliminates the prudence and contingency funds which the finance minister said would never be used to direct program spending. He told me that in the House last May. Now he will be using what is left in the contingency reserve to finance new program expenditures.
How can the member claim that this is a balanced budget or that it meets anything like basic transparency or accounting standards? How can he claim that it is a responsible fiscal approach when the finance minister, according to the Toronto-Dominion Bank, Merrill Lynch and other major economists, is taking us back into deficit?