Mr. Speaker, it is a purely theoretical proposition that the federal NDP would run balanced budgets because it has never formed a government and never will. Therefore, that proposition will never be put to the test.
I am aware of the NDP's provincial cousins in Saskatchewan. I have a very high opinion of some of them, Allan Blakeney and others, through the history, and Tommy Douglas, yes, but the federal NDP keep invoking those people in Saskatchewan at the provincial level who have absolutely nothing to do with this lot here in Ottawa. Yes, they did a great job in Saskatchewan but no thanks to this lot in the NDP. They have never been in government as the Saskatchewan people have and they never will be, thank goodness for Canadians. Therefore, any comparison to the Saskatchewan provincial NDP and the federal NDP is utterly and totally irrelevant.