Mr. Chair, I am thankful for the time that I have to speak to this committee about the specific concerns of my district of St. John's South—Mount Pearl.
It has been a great pleasure to listen to those across the way talking about fiscal prudence. It brings up questions of the time space continuum, and perhaps forgetting about the past and being $150 billion in debt. Enough of that.
We want to talk about the future, and perhaps we can talk about our young people. I was fortunate enough, at the young age of 21, to get my first job. I was the executive assistant to the minister of justice in the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Edward Roberts. I was young as an executive assistant, otherwise known as an EA. Therefore, I was known around the legislature as Doogie Howser, EA.
I took that as a compliment because Doogie Howser was a hero back in the late 1980s, early 1990s. It was a venerable show and launched the career of one, Neil Patrick Harris. It featured the stern but wise father, Dr. David Howser, and his pals, including his window-entering best buddy Vinnie.
He always found the time at the end of every episode to enter some secret tidbits of wisdom into that computer journal of his, saving it on his three-and-a-half inch floppy disk.
I have to ask the minister, when thinking of the future, when thinking of those who will be affected by this budget in the years before us, what tidbits of wisdom does he have within this budget for a generation that awaits those answers?