Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my friend for his submissions and congratulate him on his re-election.
Investment in infrastructure is a critical component for Canadians. As we know, our roads are broken, our transit system is in dire need of a boost, and the economy is in tatters. We need to spend money on critical infrastructure so that we can create jobs. Small businesses have demanded that we invest in our infrastructure. They need people to be able to move in order for them to have a market in which to do business.
The Conservative government has added $150 billion to the national debt in the last nine years. By my calculation, that works out to about $16.66 billion for every year that the Conservative Party was in government.
My question is, how do we reconcile the record of the Conservative government for the last nine years with the Conservatives' assertion that we need to have a balanced budget immediately?