Mr. Speaker, the issue is not security; it is incompetence and mismanagement.
The government says that it cannot afford improved EI benefits for breast cancer survivors. It tells police and firefighters that there is no money for the families of those who have died in the line of duty. It tells those who have lost their jobs in this recession that it does not have the budget to help, but it has $1 billion to spend on the most expensive 72 hours of meetings ever held.
Will the government just admit that its mismanagement, its poor planning, and its attempt to stick these meetings in a cabinet minister's riding have stolen $1 billion away from priorities that Canadians care about?