Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a short comment to close the debate. I appreciate the Members' comments. I just wanted to add that this goes back to...Having been here for five years, I guess not everybody shares my view, but I have gained a healthy dose of skepticism and cynicism in the way the information is provided to us. Mr. Chairman, I don't mean any disrespect to any of the staff or accountants. Accountants balance numbers. They make sure that what goes on the left side goes on the right side. Ministers are the ones who set the priorities, and I think under the consensus government maybe we should have Finance Ministers running and laying out their agenda at re-election time, because otherwise we get one Finance Minister on one extreme spend, spend, spend, decrease taxes...
---Laughter
...and then we get another Finance Minister using exactly the same fiscal relationship we have with Ottawa, exactly the same social problems, probably using exactly the same facts that the department staff provides and comes out with a completely different interpretation. I've been
sitting here listening to the same thing, but drawing different conclusions.
We have gone through two weeks of a budget debate, and I'm telling you they gave us a box and we are giving them a box back with a rubber stamp on it. We have not been able to make one iota of change as Regular Members. If we really have a consensus government, then we on this side of the House should have more say in making into a dough and not a square box where we either take it or leave it. None of the suggestions we have made in terms of saving programs or anything, none of it was addressed.
Mr. Chairman, obviously this is my motion and I will be supporting that. Thank you.