Mr. Speaker, this is where it is very disconcerting to Canadians because the Conservatives can never accept facts. They want to ignore the facts on any issue, such as the fact that Alan Riddell was paid or Jim Hart was paid. Those facts are real.
The Conservatives have to accept the fact that during very good economic times Mr. Mulroney quadrupled the debt. Conservative governments since Borden, since the time of the sinking of the Titanic, have never been able to balance budgets. Now when they have been handed $17 billion on a silver platter, what do they do? They ignore it.
I would like to bring to the attention of the hon. member that at one point during the Mulroney era, the CPP was totally underfunded and now it is funded for 75 years. It requires leadership; it requires vision; and it requires the commitment of government to move forward with the people. The people in 1993 realized that. This is why they booted out the Conservatives, because they were such terrible economic managers.
I cannot understand why, despite having $17 billion in surplus, the Conservatives found it necessary to be mean to people who are poor, who are vulnerable. They cut literacy programs. They cut the Kelowna accord. They cut Kyoto. What is their agenda?