Mr. Speaker, my colleague rightly points out that the budget put forward by the Conservative government, which we are debating today, really does not resemble anything that Barack Obama might put together. Those guys are not Barack Obama, but I might point out that neither is he.
Barack Obama probably would not enter into a coalition with the Conservative Party. Barack Obama would probably vote against this budget. Therefore, any parallels he seeks to draw between himself and Barack Obama fail the most basic test. One cannot simultaneously support and oppose the Conservative budget, which we vote on later today.
I have heard my colleague very eloquently recite and dictate the many shortcomings of the budget and how fundamentally wrong it is, how it fails in its test in terms of stimulating the economy, how municipalities will be unable to avail themselves of the infrastructure money if they have to come up with one third of it.
How can my colleague stand there today and criticize the Minister of Finance's budget and then later today follow the orders of his party and vote for it? Will he not practice what he preaches and join us in opposing the Conservative budget that he claims to oppose so vigorously in his speech?