Mr. Speaker, if the Minister for International Trade could go back to his seat and ask a question, I would not have to put questions to my colleague, the hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot.
I will first make a few comments. I would like to congratulate the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, in particular for his demonstration. With the means available to him, which are far from what the government has at its disposal, he has always succeeded in forecasting as precisely as possible, more precisely than the Minister of Finance in any case, the size of the surplus. I think he deserves a special tribute for this. He was always very close to the actual figures, even though he did not have access to the same tools as the federal officials.
I am very proud of his support for the motion I brought forward. The members of the Bloc Quebecois have all worked together to bring this important motion forward.
Does the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot agree with the expression commission on fiscal strangulation used by the Parti Quebecois government? Does he consider this expression exaggerated or adequate? I would like to hear his comments on this point.