And yet, Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec stated yesterday, “—if, down the road, it is insufficient, we are still here—”. And yet everyone in Quebec recognizes that the government’s announcement is insufficient; the Minister himself admits that the manufacturing and forestry sectors have urgent needs that are not covered by the Conservative plan.
At a time when the economic outlook is getting darker, would the Prime Minister not think it wiser to use $3.5 billion out of the $10.6 billion remaining in the surplus for the fiscal year ending on March 31 now? The money has to be used now rather than putting it entirely toward the debt.