Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be part of the debate, especially after the interventions of two members on the government side a moment ago who wondered about finances and how programs are funded.
I know they share the views of all members in this place, that if there is a vision that drives the party in government, it will be expressed in the budget document. The budget document will itemize exactly what the government will do. It will give an indication of how moneys will be raised and where the moneys will be spent and who will benefit and profit.
So here it is. I am going to have a look. The Minister of Finance said, “Read the book. It is all in the book”, so let us see what is in the book.
According to the book there are going to be projected for this coming fiscal year an additional $4.4 billion in revenues. It gets better. It means that the government vision for the country is going to be predicated on that $4.4 billion. The rest does not matter because it was already there. It is money that was in the last budget. It is money that has already been raised. It is money that has already been packaged. It is money that has already been put out to Canadians as part and parcel of their experience and their commitment to government and to the growth of this country. They have increased their revenues by $4.4 billion.
It gets better. A Conservative government purports to be responsible, accountable and transparent. What is it going to do? I know you will love this statement, Mr. Speaker, and it is right here in the book. It talks about the program expenses of the government opposite, that one right over there, the one that talks about the best interests of Canadians everywhere, that one whose accountability and accounting processes are limpid, and what is it that the government is going to do? The Conservatives are going to raise an additional $4.4 billion and they are going to spend $10.6 billion. They are going to spend an additional $10.6 billion.
My colleague from Mississauga South who is an accountant will understand this. I know my accountant friend will tell me that leads to deficits and a decline in confidence in the government and the country to proceed along a sane and reasonable economic and fiscal path. It leads to increased borrowing costs everywhere. It leads to a loss of confidence by business in the country. But that is okay.
This is blarney economics on the part of the Minister of Finance who stood in the House today and said that he was a terrific guy and he could only do terrific things, that he could only do, and I think the term he used about five times was historic things. The historic thing is to return to the Conservative practice of spending more than is actually raised.
I know that my colleague from Mississauga South is waiting to see what the vision is in this book. It is in the book. The vision is there. The Minister of Finance said to read it. He is going to reduce the debt; this is from someone who is spending more than he is raising. He is going to reduce the debt by $3 billion. How does one reduce the debt by--