Mr. Speaker, my colleague across the way knows the strong financial position that the government inherited from the Liberals, and as he mentioned, still the Conservatives have done nothing for veterans.
He also mentioned the string of years in which the former Liberal government had surpluses and that the surpluses were not put to some of the uses that he mentioned. I would remind him that the government of the day had to deal with the debt left by nine years of mismanagement by the Mulroney Conservative government. He has already pointed out that we have had nine months of mismanagement by the so-called new Conservative government. In his own words, they are swimming in cash and they have done nothing for the veterans.
How can any Canadians have confidence in the government when it cut the most needy in our country by $1 billion, a cut to the elderly, seniors, women's groups and the illiterate? And on the same day, the Conservatives took credit for a former surplus of $13.2 billion. How can anyone have any confidence in the so-called new Conservative government with the actions it has taken in its nine months of mismanagement?