Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
First, you've been thanked for coming. I want to go further and thank you for the work you do for Canadians every day that you go to work. And I want to say that I'm sorry you have had this slap in the face to the work you do, by people who don't understand its value either to social cohesion or to the future of the economy and the productivity of the Canadian economy.
I'm going to suggest to you that you do not waste time trying to figure out the logic or reason behind this. There is none. Asking yourself why a neo-conservative government has made cuts to the social programs that affect the poor is like asking yourself, why does an alcoholic drink? The answer is the same. They cannot help themselves. So don't waste time trying to figure out why. I think you should join the opposition parties in getting angry about it and mobilizing people to get angry about it, because concerning these cuts, it's very fortuitous that you happen to be our witnesses today. You are showing us in a very clear way that it is the most vulnerable in our society who are feeling the pinch from this.
I used to head up an agency that served clients such as yours, so I know the feeling when you are slapped by the government, because essentially they are saying, “Forget about your clients and the work you do,” whereas I'm saying to you that the majority of the members of Parliament, both in the Senate and in the House, do not feel that way and value your work.
The parliamentary secretary from Saskatchewan, I must say, suggests that the working income tax benefit of $500 a year is going to be a help. Well, if you divide it by 52 weeks, you know how minuscule it is. The GST reduction has the least benefit for the poor, and the tax deduction for skating lessons that she suggested might be good, but you and I know the kind of people you're helping don't have enough money for skating lessons in the first place. So all these little tax deductions are directed at the fairly healthy middle class, but not the poor, who are slipping further and further behind every day.
I want to go to Ms. Regehr. You say to raise the federal minimum wage. We don't have one. It has been abolished. So we have to re-establish it first. You're suggesting $10 an hour and raising the basic tax exemption for low-income workers. The problem with that is that when you raise the basic tax exemption, it affects all workers, because tax law works that way. What would you suggest we raise the basic tax exemption to? The Conservative government just raised it, just by a bit, but--