Mr. Speaker, I actually made that point in my speech. We will get it up on YouTube to have the full reference.
We talked about the initial impact of this being on those perhaps 40,000 federally regulated workers who now fall below this kind of minimum wage threshold we are talking about. As many as 100,000 workers who are earning around $12.50 an hour would also be impacted.
We do not speak of this in broad terms in its initial output, but it will have some impact on a broader societal level. If those who are working in an airport are receiving a new federal minimum wage, and the provincial standard is much lower just outside the airport, one would imagine that this might have some influence and impact on our provincial colleagues. However, that is their choice.
All I would say is this: If there are almost a million new minimum wage jobs that have been created since the government took over, an increase of 66%, that should give all of us pause as to where those new jobs are being created. This is also from a government that has brought in over 350,000 temporary foreign workers a year, which has also helped to suppress wages in Canada, according to various studies from very Conservative think tanks that have looked at it.
Time and again, the Conservatives talk about helping out Canadian families, yet time and again, the evidence is contrary. Why do we not do something that would actually and obviously help out working families in Canada? As my friend said, it would not be everyone immediately. That is why this is a moderate proposal. This is a proposal that we should make things just a little bit better for those who could use the hand up, and a lot of that help will come back to the larger Canadian economy.