Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for those comments, but I will give him some things to think about.
We as a country kicked out the Conservative government in 1993. What was the debt then? It was $43 billion. There is another thing to think about. What was the unemployment rate then? It was 12%. What were the interest rates then? They were 11%. What was the debt to GDP ratio? It was 71%. I have this almost down to the minute. If that government were to have stayed in power for another 30 minutes, we would have been bankrupt.
I am surprised that a member from Atlantic Canada would talk like that because if the motion were ever allowed to pass, and I assume the member will not vote for it, it would strip the federal government of all power it had to deal with issues like health care and equalization. Every province would be on its own. We would lose the strong federal central government and Atlantic Canada would be out to sea.