Mr. Speaker, I listened with great attention to the discourse of the hon. member, although there was a little factual inaccuracy in it. Maybe he could explain it better to the House. In other words, I am trying to give him a second chance.
The hon. member has complained about the fact that the Atlantic accord is in the budget bill, which is where it should be. However, what he has failed to indicate is that the government offered on two separate occasions to have a stand-alone bill and pass it right away, but the opposition refused.
Perhaps the hon. member across the way could explain to us whether this is simply a case of deathbed repentance on the part of Conservatives who think they can now pretend to care for Atlantic Canadians? Their now Leader of the Opposition made such disparaging remarks about Atlantic Canadians not that many years ago, remarks that all of us on this side of the House remember. He talked about the culture of welfare and things like that and criticized, wrongly, the proud people of Atlantic Canada. Is that the reason why the Leader of the Opposition may have inculcated these values in his colleagues?
Perhaps, by giving this additional chance to the hon. member, he can now explain the real reason. Is it this deathbed repentance to try to make Atlantic Canadians forget Conservative statements of the past and Conservative actions of not that long ago in relation to the bill?