Mr. Speaker, the sad part here is that in 1986, after the auditor general said that this money should go into the general fund, all of a sudden the government had found a cash cow. This is the government's cash cow. Each time the government announced profits, a surplus, or even a balanced budget, it was at the expense of workers.
The question was asked of the Liberals when they were in power and of the Conservatives. They only responded that we should wake up, because they had taken the money. They admitted having spent it and that the money was gone. This evening, they will legalize this theft. That is what they will do.
Then, we will hear that if the workers need money they will have to borrow it and pay interest on that loan, because there will be interest on the $54 billion that belongs to them. That is the sad part, and we will find out the ending tonight.
The other sad part is that, instead of borrowing money, the government will reduce EI even more, which will mean less for the workers.
These are the two things that can happen after tonight. This marks a sad day in Canada's history. This is $54 billion gone into the coffers of the government, which used them for sponsorships, as we know, or other things that were not good for Canadians.