Mr. Speaker, the transactional majority strikes again. It was not too long ago when the Liberals seized control of committees, and now they are seizing control of this Parliament. I will remind members that, over a year ago, a minority government was elected in order to hold government to account, to make sure that there was transparency, and to make sure that there was oversight as well. Here we are, with the government seizing control through this closure motion.
Actually, what the Liberals are doing is silencing the voices of nearly 50% of members in the House, including mine, who have something to say about this budget, particularly on the $30‑billion increase in deficits and the upward trend of $2.4 trillion in additional debt that could be added by this fall economic statement going into the future. They are silencing not just my voice, but the voices of many other MPs in this place representing Canadians who are fearful that they will be left picking up the scattered pieces of what is left of this government when they are done with it.
Does three hours of debate actually reflect the importance of this issue? That is my question for the finance minister.