Madam Chair, surprisingly, we are finding another side of the story, and that side of the story does not really work with what we have in our hands. We are told that we should not worry about this borrowing because the minister's friends at the IMF think he is doing a great job. The minister does not think we need balanced budget laws either.
I was surprised when the IMF said last month, in its review of the Canadian economic situation, that it is important to know that any stimulus package should be accompanied by a credible, medium-term consolidated plan. The current balanced budget rules should be replaced by a new fiscal rule that is transparent, easy to communicate, and sufficiently flexible to avoid global cyclicality. Apparently relying on indicators of debt to GDP, the government's current preference is not good enough.
Will the minister listen to his friends at the IMF and introduce a credible framework to discipline his spending?