Mr. Speaker, as I begin my debate I want to say that as a country we are in the best fiscal shape since 1867. We have been through a lot.
As members know, the Liberal government inherited a half a trillion dollar debt after nine years of Conservative rule. During that time the debt grew from $200 billion to $500 billion. If the Conservatives had been in power another 13 years I would guess we would have probably had $1.5 trillion worth of debt.