Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the intervention by my colleague today, but I think some of his facts are wrong.
He said that the former Stephen Harper government had prepared for a rainy day, but let us put the facts on the table. What really happened, and I know the member is very good with the data and knows what went on, is that the former Martin government left a $13-billion surplus. The member is basically saying that over a two-year period, the Conservative government continued to save in preparation for a rainy day. However, what it did in 2007 and 2008, before the recession hit, was decrease the surplus. The former government was already on its way down, by decreasing the surplus and going into a deficit position.
The member suggests that Stephen Harper was saving for a rainy day, but the facts do not support that claim.