Finance  Mr. Speaker, the only people who believe that the previous Conservative government left a surplus are the Conservatives themselves. Canadians will not be fooled. Make no mistake, the Government of Canada is going to run a deficit for the 2015-16 fiscal year, a deficit that will result from the previous government's measures and inaction.

Finance  Mr. Speaker, it is particularly ironic that members from a party that inherited a $13 billion surplus from a Liberal government in 2006 and then added $150 billion in debt to Canadians are talking to us about this. On top of that, they did it while creating the lowest rate of growth since the Great Depression, maybe because they spent the money on things like gazebos.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, I just want to say how much I appreciate the question from the hon. member, because it provides me with an opportunity to remind all the people here that we actually lowered taxes on nine million Canadians. As of January 1 this year, nine million Canadians have more money in their pockets.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, Canadians elected a new government on October 19. They recognized that we had a plan. We had a plan to deal with low growth through bringing forward a new approach. We reduced taxes on the middle class, which will stimulate the economy while helping nine million Canadians.

Finance  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for her question. I can say that I have done an enormous number of pre-budget consultations across this country, in actuality from coast to coast. We have seen people from all sectors of the economy. I have listened more than any minister of finance has ever listened in the history of this country.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, with respect to the hon. member, here is the real problem. The real problem is that the Conservatives were not able to do anything over nine years getting resources to market. On what basis do they have any credibility in asking us how we are going to do it? We are going to take an approach that is actually going to get resources to tidewater.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, we find it pretty ironic that members on the opposite side, who were not able to get resources to tidewater over nine years, are talking about what we are trying to do. We are looking for a way to actually get resources to tidewater. We have been very clear about this point.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by commenting on the absurdity of the motion before us. To think that one month's worth of information or even six months' worth of information constitutes information for an entire year is patently absurd. It is like people looking at their bank balance before they have paid their bills and saying how thankful they are for a positive bank balance, not realizing that their bills amount to more than what they have in the bank.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I believe that the hon. member and I can agree that the employment insurance fund is critically important for Canadians. We recognize, especially in times of economic challenge, that this is an extremely important vehicle to help Canadians be able to deal with challenging personal situations.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, we made a commitment to Canadians that we would exercise caution in all that we do. We made a commitment that we would be open and transparent with Canadians in explaining the state of our finances. That is exactly what we endeavoured to do with our economic and fiscal update in November.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, we made a real commitment to being open and transparent. We made a commitment to listening to Canadians. One of our very first initiatives in that regard was ensuring we had a pre-budget consultation process that was as open as possible. We travelled across the country.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the only people who believe the previous Conservative government left a surplus are the Conservatives themselves. Neither one month nor six months of information make a year. We are looking at the entire year. Make no mistake. For the budget year 2015-16, we will be in a deficit.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, in spite of your best efforts, there are times in the House where cynicism can drive hon. members to focus on division rather than honest debate. The motion that the opposition has chosen to debate today could be described as clever. At first glance, it seems to present an impossible choice: agree with false assumptions or publicly deny our support and appreciation for an institution dedicated to serving Canadians.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Madawaska—Restigouche for his question. I am proud of the fact that our department is conducting the most open pre-budget consultations in history. To date, we have been in contact with 150,000 people, and 3,500 of them have provided formal comments.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to be in Alberta a few weeks ago and to meet with members of the oil and gas community. They reinforced for me the incredible importance of getting their resources to tidewater. We have had nine years of failure in getting resources to tidewater.