Mr. Speaker, the hon. member started out with a couple of comments with respect to what has been in the Last Post Fund in this and in the last budget, and then later in his remarks he said that we should not take anything that anyone says at face value.
One of the things he said was that in the last budget there was $65 million in extra money allocated to the Last Post Fund. That is one thing that should not be taken at face value, and here is why.
Yes, there was mention of $65 million in the budget, but the Last Post Fund spends about $10 million a year. It is true that in the last budget the government doubled the amount for which veterans would be eligible for a funeral. Assuming the same number of eligible veterans, that would double the amount of expenditure under the Last Post Fund from $10 million to $20 million. The amount the Conservatives put in the budget was $65 million. They put $65 million in the budget for one reason: they had no intention of spending it. It is going to be impossible for veterans to be able to avail themselves of that. The $65 million is going to lapse and become part of the budget balancing exercise. It is what is called balancing the budget by stealth. That is what it is.
Does the member agree that this balancing of the budget by stealth is tantamount to balancing the budget on the backs of veterans, and that the $65 million in last year's budget is nothing but a ruse?