Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, a new poll released yesterday showed that the vast majority of Quebeckers support transporting oil products via pipeline. Furthermore, 59% of Quebeckers would rather purchase oil products originating in western Canada. My question is very simple. Ontario, the Atlantic provinces, the western provinces, and Quebec all support the energy east project.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago, Denis Coderre was not speaking for Quebeckers when he opposed energy east. According to a new poll, Quebeckers consider pipelines to be the safest means to transport oil. Fifty-nine per cent would prefer to buy their oil from western Canada. The Atlantic, the west, Ontario, and now Quebec support energy east.

Finance  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister celebrated his first 100 days by spending more money that he does not have, specifically $319 million on young people. It is an entirely hypocritical gesture, since those same young people will be forced to pay for this deficit spending in the very near future.

Finance  Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed because this government has already broken three important promises it made to Canadians and future generations. This government is in denial. The Liberals do not want to acknowledge that they are borrowing money at the expense of future generations.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, yesterday, we learned that after campaigning on a tax increase for the province's well-heeled citizens and then raising their taxes, the Liberal government in New Brunswick is realizing that this is not working and that the government coffers are bare. You cannot create wealth by raising everyone's taxes.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, middle-class Canadians need Liberal governments to get out of the way and not raise their taxes. That is simple. If it keeps raising taxes, there will be less revenue and fewer jobs. When will the finance minister realize that taxing Canadians is not a solution for prosperity in this country?

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, my colleague, the former parliamentary secretary to the minister of finance, just confirmed to me that this is one of the first times in Canadian history that the Standing Committee on Finance is not conducting public consultations across Canada. It is now conducting consultations over the Internet.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the member is absolutely right that the Minister of Finance has the responsibility of being transparent to the House and also to tell us the truth. We asked him what the deficit would be, and he said that the end of the fiscal year would be in a couple of weeks from now and that he could not answer that simple question.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I will share my time with my colleague, the member for Battle River—Crowfoot. I thank all the members who are in the House today to debate the motion before us, which is on an important subject. I am disappointed to see that my government colleagues and my New Democrat colleagues are planning on voting against this simple motion, which thanks public servants for their independence and expertise in conducting a financial analysis of government data.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is only today that the Minister of Finance is telling us that he was handed a surplus by his officials, as well as a $1 billion surplus by our former government last November. He then prepared his economic update. When he prepared his economic update, those same officials told him that if he did not do something, there would be a deficit by the end of the fiscal year.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, it is sad to listen to my colleague. Running deficits is not the answer for stimulating the economy. When Canadians are managing their budgets, they know that when times are tough it is not the time to be spending more. On the contrary, they know that when times are tough it is time to look closer at their spending, manage it responsibly, and save money.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that prosperity does not come from government spending but rather from entrepreneurs investing. The finance minister is completely wrong when he thinks that we can spend our way to prosperity on borrowed money. Will he work with us? Will he work with job-creating entrepreneurs by lowering taxes and balancing the budget?

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, it is now obvious that the Minister of Finance lives in a fantasy world, because he believes that more spending will create wealth. Canadians know that this is not true and that the budget must be balanced. Will the Minister of Finance come to his senses and convince his Prime Minister to change course and take a tough and responsible approach to the budget, rather than creating structural deficits that will burden future generations with debt?

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that only entrepreneurs invest and create wealth. The government is spending money that it does not have. That is what the Minister of Finance is doing. Will the Minister of Finance stop trying to make Canadians believe that he inherited a deficit? Last Friday, his officials clearly told him that he inherited a surplus of more than $400 million in November.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, yesterday, National Bank economists announced that the federal deficit will reach $50 billion in the next two years. It is disappointing that the current Minister of Finance still believes in the old Keynesian theories whereby more government spending will lead to greater prosperity and that he is still applying them.