Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question will be directed to the Minister responsible for the Department of Finance. I will do this in the same way I did my Member's statement.
Mr. Speaker, we are out of the training camp stage. We have now set up our first line and second lines. I hope we are on the same team. I see that Mr. Handley's role, the Minister responsible for Finance, is that of the goaltender. He has to prevent us from losing the game.
I would like to know, since he is the one that has signed the letters that directed the departments how to prepare their interim appropriation, did he in fact deliver the message that it would be a "stand-pat" budget based on the 1999-2000 fiscal year? Is that the case?