Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my hon. colleague on his election. It does not seem to be that he is one of those who is inclined to reduce the pettiness in the House, although I would encourage him to consider doing so.
The question of the deficit and how it was removed is one in which the NDP failed to play a positive role. In fact, every time there were measures in the House to get the economy of the country back in shape to reduce the deficit, to strengthen our economy, that party voted against them. The new member needs to do a little research and a little history. He needs to know a bit about the past of our country and what happened over the past years. When the economy strengthened, when the Liberal government got our finances in order, interest rates came down. The economy flourished. It created jobs. Poverty was reduced. People were better off.
In that situation real people benefited. Ordinary Canadian families were better off. If that is not what we are here for, then why are we here? We are here to serve people and to try to provide better conditions for every family in our country. If members fail to recognize this, they ought to reconsider why they are here.