Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the proposal, which will have to be legislated and get the approval of the House, is to ensure that in normal economic times governments do not run the country into more public debt. What we have seen over the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s under former Liberal prime ministers is an accumulation of public debt that is massive, and we are going to pay it off.
In the House of Commons on October 23rd, 2013. See this statement in context.