Mr. Speaker, we have laid out very clearly that our government will play a role in dealing with this economic downturn.
I recall our Prime Minister saying over a year ago that we would be facing economic difficulties in the future, that there was going to be a crisis facing the world, and that we needed to position ourselves well and early. I was one who, when the GST cuts came, initially did not understand the importance this would have to our economy, but as I went out into our constituencies, I kept hearing people say that it meant great savings for them so they could purchase things or do things.
What our government tried to do early was to lower the tax level for individual Canadians and for business. We tried to put in place strong fiscal measures so that Canada would be well positioned. What else did we do? We cut taxes. We cut the amount of revenue coming into our government, but we said that with the surplus we have, we would not go out at the end of the fiscal year and start to spend, spend, spend. We would pay down our national debt and that has positioned us very well.
When investors from around the world take a look at what Canada has done in paying down debt, they see a commitment and they have more confidence in our economy. They see an economy that is based not only on energy but on people, and so again, there is more of a confidence there now.
The member is asking what we are going to do. I am saying that the departments are going to take a look and see where we can streamline. Our departments are going to evaluate whether Canadians are getting value for these programs, and if they are not getting value for programs, these programs will be diminished.
That is why members have heard our Prime Minister and different ministers inviting the opposition to come together and ask how we can streamline some of the programs that exist at the present time that are not delivering value. I hope that different opposition leaders and different parties come and say, “These are some of the areas where we can streamline”.
We can also say that we will respond. We have responded to programs that deal with families, that deal with single parents. We have responded in many different ways. We are going to continue to keep a strong social fabric here in Canada that we have come to appreciate and expect.