Where do I start, Mr. Speaker? There were so many good questions.
Certainly, part of what the hon. member said in her question concerned living within our means and economic, responsible, prudent types of budgets and measures that we bring forward. We have said all along that Canadians expect that if they have to live within their means, government should also have to live within its means. That means we come to balanced budgets.
That is why our record is a good one. Even before the recession hit, we paid $38 billion down in national debt. That showed investors that Canada was serious about getting its economic house in order.
When we moved into this global recession, what did we do? Did we withdraw? Did we stop investment? Did we say that regardless of what happens, we will stick to a balanced budget? We invested in things that mattered to Canadians: in infrastructure. We invested in roads, bridges, and things that will lend themselves to long-term prosperity.
This budget implementation bill carries on from there and speaks of the very important measures in the next step forward.