As I told Ms. Laidlaw-Sly, the objective remains the same. I can assure you that I will always be there to help a homeless person, to help someone who is in a truly bad situation, or even a disabled person. However, there are different ways of helping these people.
This government's main priority is to create a business-friendly climate. There is also the international context. Everyone is aware of the competitive pressure which comes from China because of its very cheap labour costs. Chinese workers work under conditions we cannot possible provide. China pays its labourers $1 a day, something no one can compete with.
Let me give you an example. GlaxoSmithKline is a European company which moved into my riding; it spent $1.2 billion because it was offered what it needed; and 1,000 jobs were created. Our goal is to create tax measures to not only attract large-scale investment from big corporations, but also to create good jobs.
I believe you talked about low-paid, part-time jobs. But when Canada's tax system makes Canada as a whole more competitive, all Canadians of all classes benefit, including lower-educated Canadians, Canadians with graduate degrees, and Canadians who are very adaptable. We do not want to lower taxes to help property owners become richer, but to make Canada a more attractive place for foreign investment.
You also said that we should invest more in the environment. Canada has invested $9.1 billion in the environment. It is one of the countries which has done the most for the environment. I can guarantee you that the reduction objectives of 20% by the year 2020 are binding, and that Canada's greenhouse gas emissions will fall by 20% by 2020.
Ms. Catherine Laidlaw-Sly also talked about the firearms registry. Of the 498 murders committed with a firearm, three were committed with a registered firearm, which means that the remaining 495 murders were committed with illegal firearms. I would invite my colleagues of the Bloc and the Liberal Party to work with us in a more cooperative manner to create legislation which would impose minimum mandatory sentences for firearms-related offences.