Mr. Speaker, the member has paid the price in a very literal and personal way for the Conservatives' betrayal of Atlantic Canada. I think all members of the House respect him for the stand that he took in the interest of his constituents and in the interest of Nova Scotia.
We have seen the reaction of public opinion in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. We have seen the reaction in Saskatchewan. We have seen the reaction in British Columbia to this bad budget that now the Conservatives are trying to rush through because they are realizing that public opinion is certainly being raised against them right across the country, from coast to coast to coast.
The government brought in closure today to force through the budget bill. We saw last Friday that the government tried to give itself special emergency powers, a conjurer's trick that it tried to use to get the budget through.
Why do the Conservatives not get it? Why do they not understand that these betrayals and broken promises, particularly the betrayal on the Atlantic accord, are simply not acceptable. I want to know the member's opinion. Why do the Conservatives not understand that a broken promise is illegitimate and wrong and they should make amends?