Mr. Speaker, I will resist commenting on the whole issue of a Conservative balanced budget because they were able to turn a multi-billion dollar surplus into a deficit and have not yet had a balanced budget.
Having said that, one of the greatest travesties of the government over the last number of months is its lack of commitment to infrastructure in all regions of Canada. Conservatives talk a big line in saying there are record high amounts, in the billions of dollars, going into infrastructure, but what they do not say is that the money is not for this year. They have put off the bulk of that money until future years. There is actually a 90% cut.
Why does the member believe that his own government has dramatically cut infrastructure spending for this fiscal year? There is an estimated cut of between 80% to 90% in infrastructure dollars for this fiscal year.