Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his speech. I would like him to respond to certain aspects of the budget including the aid to the manufacturing and forestry industries. We know that the Conservatives' aid to the communities is quite pathetic. It is peanuts compared to what our communities and our people need to survive.
Look at page 125 of the budget plan. I will take the time to read it. The Conservatives think $1 billion ought to solve the problem.
Funding will be accounted for in 2007–08, and paid into a trust for those provinces and territories that identify initiatives before March 31, 2008.
It says March 31, 2008. There is just a month left and the government is saying that the future of these communities—for the little bit that has been given—has to be decided in the next month.
Can my colleague tell me whether it is acceptable for the Conservatives to do such a thing? I think this is unacceptable. They are trying to make sure this $1 billion is never fully spent within the communities that need it. They are trying to limit the expenditures.
Does my colleague agree that the Conservatives are offering peanuts? And, is it acceptable that the future of these communities has to be negotiated in just a month? That is how much time they have to decide whether their future will be better or not so good.