Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Minister Flaherty, for appearing here today and also for what I would call steady leadership during challenging economic times, especially recently.
I know that I speak for many Canadians of all political stripes when I say that sticking to a plan matters. This plan--Canada's economic action plan, a low-tax plan for jobs and economic growth--was forged against a backdrop of a potentially fragile global economy and a recovery that would be unbalanced. It was forged against this backdrop, and we're sticking to it.
Despite what Mr. Brison may say, I've got a note here.... I've written many prominent Liberals, but I would argue that we may see more unicorns here in the 41st Parliament. There may be more sightings of unicorns than of prominent Liberals.
That said, I did take note on the weekend that Warren Kinsella had written an article called “In grudging praise of Flaherty“. There's an editor's note that warns Conservatives they may want to immediately locate smelling salts and sit down on the couch before they read it, and another note at the end warning Conservatives not to operate heavy machinery after reading the column.
That said, Warren Kinsella said something I agree with wholeheartedly: “Flaherty has been a voice of calm and rationality. Through it all, the...finance minister has done what he should have done--he reminded everyone our economic fundamentals are rock-solid. Our banking system is secure. Our lending practices are sane.”
Mr. Kinsella went on to say, “We are in good shape...it can't be denied: Flaherty has been conducting our economic affairs with a certain degree of skill.”
Now I want to change gears a little bit.