Mr. Speaker, I think I will be talking to my friend Bernie Collins. Maybe he could get into the next election because I am sure that he understands budgetary matters a lot better than the member opposite.
Of course, we all know what happened. The Conservative Party initially supported our budget because it is a good budget. However, as evidence came out at the Gomery inquiry day by day, little bits here and little bits there, evidence presented by people who are under investigation, people who have been charged, contradictory evidence, evidence refuted the very next day, the Conservatives saw the polls and thought, wow, this is looking good for our party so maybe we will not support the budget after all.
Our government understands that Canadians do not want an election now and that is when we built an alliance with the NDP. We built on the seven great budgets preceding an eighth consecutive budgetary surplus; 3% annual growth almost every year; low unemployment, lower than 7%, more to do but almost setting a record; and low interest rates. Canadians can now buy homes where they otherwise could not. We paid down debt such that it is down to less than 40% debt to GDP from a high of 75% or thereabouts. That is saving Canadians every year over $3 billion in debt service payments. We delivered the largest tax cut in Canadian history in the year 2000 of $100 billion.
With all respect, I do not think the member for Souris—Moose Mountain actually has flipped through the budget because I think he has missed a lot of very important points, including the fact that this budget is the eighth consecutive surplus budget and it far exceeds the performance of all the industrialized countries in the world.
I wonder if the member would commit to the House today to go back and actually read the budget and then come back and revise his comments accordingly.