Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in my speech, the trouble with the motion is that it deals with moving resources from low and falling priorities to other areas. My question, which was simple and straightforward, was, whose priorities are we talking about?
I heard the member for Calgary Southeast speak. I have to assume the member agrees that the priorities being called for in the motion are the priorities of the Canadian Alliance.
My response to the member's question is that these priorities have been rejected by Canadians from coast to coast. They should not be considered by the Minister of Finance.
Second, dealing with the sale of non-core assets, I remind the member that the government went through a very extensive and exhaustive review back in the mid 1990s. Every program, service and asset was reviewed. As the member for Markham has already indicated, the size of the government is less than it was in 1993. Assets were privatized and assets were sold. What non-core assets are we talking about? I suggest they are the non-core assets as determined by the Canadian Alliance which is the reason I am speaking against the motion.