Mr. Speaker, do your job (XXI)

MR. O’BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, we have gone through a number of Budgets over the last number of years. As a matter of fact, I think this is the seventh Budget that has been brought down by the Williams government. Each and every one of them has been hard Budgets.

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The main thrust of this government is the leadership provided by our Premier, Danny Williams. He is the one that has the vision, he is the one that had that vision, he is the one that continues to have that vision, and he will continue to have that. As a matter of fact, I will reference an article that was in the National Post this weekend in regard to our Premier, and in regard to the kind of person that he is. They also went down through it and that kind of stuff, and he made some remarks in regard to that particular article that I saw that made him and makes him what he is today, and how he appeals to Canadians and appeals to the average Joe that is on the street. They believe and they can see how genuine a person he is, in regard to his passion, not only for Newfoundland and Labrador – that is where it is centred to, absolutely, but also Canada as well. I think the National Post reporter asked him if he was interested in regard to the federal scene and becoming the Prime Minister of Canada, and I think he said that, listen, my focus is on Newfoundland and Labrador, I am at a certain age, and maybe I do not have time left in the old battery cells to go on to that, because by the time I finish maybe I should retire. I reference that and I say to myself I wish that we had availed of the Premier’s vision and his leadership back twenty years ago. Then, once he cleaned up Newfoundland and Labrador and got us on the right path and whatever he had to do there in regard to the leadership, well then he could certainly go up to Ottawa and probably clean up the mess that we have there as well.

MR. BAKER: I am certainly proud to have the opportunity as well to stand here today and to participate in the Budget Debate. The theme of this year’s Budget of course is the Right Investments For Our Children and Our Future. It is certainly a continuation of the investment strategy to the Williams’ government since coming to power in 2003.

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Yes, Mr. Speaker, certainly my objective and my main reason, I guess, for entering politics back in 2007 was to work with the Williams’ government to address the many infrastructure needs and other issues in our district which had been neglected by previous administration for many years. Certainly, the response of this government has indeed been overwhelming.