Mr. Speaker, I certainly thank my colleague from St. Catharines for his question and all his work here in the House of Commons.
I would say quite honestly the actions of the Liberal Party with respect to the budget and with respect to the implementation are somewhat contradictory.
The Liberals were supportive of the budget, which I certainly appreciated, but the fact of the matter is they have to support the implementation of the budget as well if they want to see the measures in the budget take effect and have a positive effect.
My colleague asked about the accountability measures. This was the main point I was trying to make.
In terms of any money from the $3 billion fund, first of all, programs or projects must be economic action plan initiatives included in budget 2009 and passed by Parliament.
Second, funds can only be allocated between April 1 and June 30, 2009.
Third, appropriate checks and balances are in place. Every initiative funded from this vote requires Treasury Board approval. Existing policy requirements on accountability and reporting must be met.
Fourth, reporting on the use of funds will be done in supplementary estimates and in quarterly reports to Parliament on the economic action plan, something that the official opposition asked for specifically in its amendments to the budget.
The accountability measures are in place to deal with the special fund, and I encourage members on the opposition side to recognize this and vote against the motion.