Mr. Speaker, I am excited by the opportunity to engage in the rhetoric that is emanating from the government side. The minister is talking about two things: first of all, cooperation in the House. That is not something that belongs to the premiers or the mayors or other municipal leaders, but it does belong to members of Parliament in this place.
I dare say that notwithstanding the protestations of the government side, the government has had and has enjoyed the support of members of Parliament from all three parties on the opposition at one time or another. It is important to understand that there has been cooperation here, because the most important question that Canadians have asked as a result of the cooperation of members of Parliament over the course of the last four years is what the government has done with that cooperation.
Here is the answer I would like the minister to address. Over the course of the last 10 months, we have seen an erosion of the finances and the economy of this country under the watch of people who have had the support of members of Parliament who put aside partisanship. We have seen the finances go from a surplus to a deficit situation. That translates into a $2,000 loan, theft, from the pockets of every single Canadian: every man, woman and child. That is $2,000. How will the Conservatives recover that in an environment where they are engaging in getting us to go to an election?