Thank you, Madam Speaker. So, the government has, in fact, over $27 billion in leeway, and $23 billion of that could be allocated to the economic crisis, and the other $4 billion—plus several hundred million—to set up a secure reserve fund.
Where would this money come from? First of all, there is the whole business of tax havens. Then there is the business of the oil companies and the privileged treatment they get, as well as savings in the costs of operating the governmental machinery—but with no layoffs.
I will remind hon. members that Ottawa's financial assets, from March 31, 2008 to this point in time, are $176 billion.
In a nutshell, our plan calls for immediate measures with no cost to the budget, measures for business but also for individuals, as I have said a little earlier.
Now, for the surplus. There is a $3.8 billion surplus in 2008-09. A $1 billion deficit is forecast for 2009-10, and a $4.4 billion surplus for 2010-11. This is worth pointing out so that people know just where we stand at the moment.
The surpluses are spread over three years, and the breathing room which once was $16.9 billion—essentially, $17 billion—has decreased to $7 billion, a reduction of $9.7 billion. That is basically $10 billion over the past three years, in part because that the government reduced the GST. The government voluntarily reduced its revenues. We have to start from there.
Bureaucratic expenses could be reduced by almost $7 billion. These expenses reached $74 billion given the increases over the past nine years. The additional rules would also have to be applied more stringently over two years.
When it comes to tax havens, we must again look at the tax situation of the oil companies. There is $6 billion for the next two years. And, as I said earlier, government assets provide significant breathing room in this, as well.
I will stop there, although we could delve even further into the details. If the government had done its homework as it should have, it would have also invested in what I would call the social safety net for the people who are the hardest hit by this crisis, particularly the unemployed—both those currently unemployed and those who will be in the future. And so, we are asking the government to seriously evaluate and analyze the proposal that we have put forward.