Harper paid down 25B against the debt in his first two years in office.
Harper had to re-equip the army and air force for a war that Chretien sent us to. Tanks, APC's, , Uniforms, Medium and Heavy lift aircraft.
Harper had to deal with the worst worldwide recession in our history
Harper did this in minority parliaments where he had voting support from both the NDP and the Liberals or he would have been defeated.
Harper eliminated the deficit in his final four years when he had a majority government. You can't eliminate this type of debt in a year.

So you were saying?