Mr. Speaker, they take the prebudget consultations so seriously that the future prime minister has refused to participate.
The finance minister was waiting for instructions from his future boss. He got them yesterday from Montreal, where the member for LaSalle—Émard said in a speech that he wanted to make debt reduction his priority, and at the same time invest in education, health and municipalities—all of which are under provincial jurisdiction.
Does the Minister of Finance think it is realistic to pay down the debt at such a rate without seriously impinging on the financing of social programs?