Mr. Speaker, during his discourse the member made a statement with regard to certain programs were not done because, “the government used all of the surplus to pay down debt”.
It concerns a little. Perhaps it bears worth explaining how the process works. The surplus or deficit from a particular fiscal year is determined after the Auditor General has completed her audit. That is some six months after the end of the year. Then the financials are reported and there is a reported surplus or deficit.
It is not possible to spend a surplus. The surplus is automatically under the accounting rules applied against the debt. We cannot say that we have some money left over from the last accounting year, so let us spend it on something. That is not an option. I wanted to point that out to the member.
He should well know about providing funding for important programs, for example the Canada pension plan which is separately funded. However, there also is the fact that the Government of Canada, in providing tax credits for contributions that are made to the Canada pension plan for employer and employee contributions, is effectively contributing to the funding of those.
I just raise it with the member that there is not an option with regard to the surplus and that the savings on interest by paying down debt in an orderly basis is important to help sustain the important programs that all Canadians want.