Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport spoke on infrastructure needs and concerns and what the government is doing and I thank him for that informative speech.
As members of Parliament, every once in a while we come to the place where we sit down and take an inventory of what we have been able to accomplish, not only as individuals but as a party. Having been in government now for the last 21 months, most members of Parliament over here are very pleased with the direction this government has taken. They are saying that finally we see ourselves making a difference with the tackling violent crime bill and many other bills that are coming forward.
However, one of the other points, as it was even when I started out as a member of Parliament seven years ago, is the concern about the national debt. I am wondering if the parliamentary secretary could explain this. Our government had a $14 billion surplus and, unlike other governments, did not spend at the end of the fiscal year to get rid of the money. It was not out buying extra airplanes. It was dropping the surplus into the national debt.
Could the parliamentary secretary explain some of the advantages of doing that and explain the interest saved on the national debt? I know that for many a reduction in the national debt is one of the reasons we are here.