Minister, I am sure that the 300,000 people who lost their jobs would be very happy to hear that!
Canada's economic situation is not as rosy as you think. We are faced with a major trade balance deficit. We have a problem with our rate of productivity. The prices of machines we import from abroad are not dropping despite the rise in the Canadian dollar. Our unemployment rate has increased, and it's is emphasized by a drop in the labour force participation rate. In addition, consumer debt has reached a historic level. In its monetary policy report published in October 2011, the Bank of Canada stated that the Canadian economy was operating at about 1 1/4% below its production capacity, which is a much greater margin of unused capacity than what was predicted in July.
There are 2.7 million Canadians looking for full-time work. Twenty-seven per cent of part-time employees would like to work full time. Companies have accumulated $500 billion that has not been reinvested at high production rates.
We would like to know what you will do to ensure that the $500 billion is invested.
Thank you.