Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary is far too modest when he claims independent economists projected the Alliance fiscal plan would result in an $18 billion deficit in the last election. He is so modest he fails to ascribe the allegation to himself and himself alone.
He came out of a meeting with the finance minister a week before he declared his candidacy for the Liberal Party. Still posing as a bank economist he told the media there was a consensus that the Alliance fiscal plan would not add up. Every other bank economist in the meeting told me it was not the truth although that is a word I cannot use. It is not parliamentary language.
Many of his colleagues indicated they believed it was an affordable fiscal plan. Our proposal today is as well. WEFA, a major econometrics firm used by the finance department, has so indicated.
I challenge the parliamentary secretary in this regard. Does he not understand the impact of restraining spending over time? Can he not take out his calculator and add up the fiscal difference between a 3% program spending growth line and a 5% program spending growth line?
In 2006 the difference would be $153 billion under the Liberals compared to $141 billion under what we are proposing. Cumulatively that is $50 billion in additional fiscal capacity which could be allocated to tax relief. What does he not understand about that?
It was the finance committee which proposed that the government consider what we are proposing: inflation plus population as a spending line as opposed to 5%.