NDP budget not balanced - NDP losing credibility

Recently, April 30, in the Manitoba Legislature, I had the opportunity to speak briefly on the nature of NDP budgeting. My remarks follow:

" Not very long ago, the Minister of Finance, the MLA for St. Boniface, stood up to present a budget. As he presented that budget, he presented the budget which had an $88-million deficit in the core operations, and he said, Mr. Speaker, I present you and the people of Manitoba a balanced budget. Other Manitobans looked around, and they said, there's an $88-million deficit, and the Minister of Finance said, yes, it's a balanced budget. And the people looked again, and said, there's an $88-million deficit, and the Minister of Finance got louder and louder, this is a balanced budget. An $88-million deficit, and the Minister of Finance and the Premier (Mr. Doer) are still saying this is a balanced budget.
Most of us, when we look at our household expenses, we look at the money coming in and the money going out, and we know that if there's more coming in at the end of the month than there is going out that we're okay, we've balanced. But this government, oh, they've presented a budget. There'll be $88 million more going out than there are coming in. But this is an NDP balanced budget, Mr. Speaker. It's fine to have an $88-million deficit, you just have to understand that the Minister of Finance has delivered a balanced budget with an $88-million deficit. There's no confusion here. You just have to understand that an $88-million budget, in NDP language, is a balanced budget. Did you know that an $88-million budget deficit is a balanced budget? Well, there are a few people who seem to know this, but for most of us who have to live in the ordinary world–
An Honourable Member: The real world.
Mr. Gerrard: ­–the real world, where we're looking at the money coming in and the money going out, we look at the end of the month and if we have more going out than coming in, that's not balanced.
But the Minister of Finance has his own law, his own budget, his own lingo for an $88-million deficit. [He says] " Mr. Speaker, I present to you an $88-million deficit. It's a balanced budget."
Well, you know, the only problem with it is that the Minister of Finance, the MLA for St. Boniface, and all his colleagues, are losing some credibility among the average person who looks at their own finances and understands if you have more going out than you have coming in, that that's usually a little bit of a problem.
So, Mr. Speaker, I put it for you. We know that the NDP have their own bill, their own budget, their own way of looking at it, an $88-million deficit is a balanced budget in the NDP books, but for most of us, we see the world a little bit differently and, sometimes, to give the Legislature a little more credibility, to give the government a little more credibility, it makes sense to have a law which is a little bit closer to the way that the average person sees it, rather than the way that the Minister of Finance sees it. Thank you.