Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During the committee of the whole discussion yesterday, I voted against a motion to reduce the government's supplementary budget by $160,000. Due to a procedural misunderstanding on my part, I missed an opportunity to explain my position. I would like to take this opportunity to do so.
Mr. Speaker, the stated reasons for this motion were: to reinforce the importance of fiscal responsibility; and as a symbolic gesture, to force the Premier and the Executive to lead by example.
I carefully listened to both sides of the argument on this motion in and out of this House. In the end, I concluded that I could not vote for it for a number of reasons. At the outset, Mr. Speaker, I want to make it clear that I respect the right of all Members of this House to introduce and pass a motion. But I also respect my right to disagree and state the reason.
Simply put, Mr. Speaker, in my view, this motion was not rationally connected to the stated reasons. With respect to the need for a symbolic gesture on the part of the Premier and the Executive, I note this was already accomplished by the reduction of $100,000 made in the interim budget. There was no further rationale for asking for another symbolic gesture.
On the issue of fiscal responsibility, Mr. Speaker, I want there to be no doubt that I believe in this government's need for fiscal responsibility in all manners of spending. But I also believe that this cannot be achieved by a piecemeal approach of a miniscule reduction of an arbitrarily picked number from a small section of one department.
Mr. Speaker, in this Session, we have reviewed and passed an interim appropriation upwards of $326 million. The capital spending had to take a cut of $10 million. We have heard the protest from every Member in this House for the cuts that had to be made in their own riding.
The fiscal situation of this government is in a dire situation. It calls for a big vision and big decisions, not small, symbolic gestures.
Mr. Speaker, we know we need more money than we have. For example, as I have stated many times in this House, the Highway No. 3 reconstruction that my constituents want so badly will cost $60 million to build. But the reality is, this is more than the total capital interim budget of this government. It does not take a math genius to realize that the way for me to find $60 million is not a small, miniscule, irrational cut of $160,000 from last year's budget.
I believe what we need is for this House to work together for a common vision and fiscal leadership.