Mr. Speaker, I want to read an article by Jacqueline Thorpe in today's National Post . She states:
The $4.5-billion New Democrat budget deal, new provincial health care and side deals, changes to equalization payments and a surge in program spending under Paul Martin's Liberals have led to a crazy-quilt of programs and blurred the lines between federal and provincial responsibilities, the Bank of Nova Scotia said in a report.
She is quoting a report from the Bank of Nova Scotia. I think most intelligent Canadians would say the very same thing. This is basically a flotation jacket for the Liberal Party. The Liberals wanted a lifeline to survive on the floor of the House of Commons and they did it. They did it with a spending spree of $4.5 billion on a plan that was sketched out on the back of a napkin in a hotel room in downtown Toronto. How can the member possibly support that type of deal?