I have to say it's refreshing to hear a member of the NDP actually acknowledge the current strength of the economy.
I'm interested in the amendment here. It's obviously a political poke in the eye from Mr. Savage, which we're used to seeing. It kind of hearkens back to the start of the committee in this new Parliament, when members from that side were passing motion after motion calling on ministers to resign, or whatever the case, and just kind of playing political games.
I'm going to move a subamendment now. I don't expect it to pass, because it's as ridiculous as the Liberal amendment, but it does make a point. I'd like to remove the words “and the inadequate response of the government to date”, and “improved”. We'll add in that same spot, “and 13 years of inaction by the previous Liberal government, under whose leadership we probably still would not have a softwood lumber agreement”.
I know that Mr. Savage is asking for a few minutes to decide on that one, so we can give him that if he needs it. It seems as if we're going to use up the next 25 minutes of committee talking about this again, instead of dealing with employability and poverty, so maybe we can discuss that. I'm always glad to have a conversation about the total inaction by the previous Liberal government.
It's interesting that I heard someone talking earlier--I think someone from the Liberal side--about Mr. Dion's poverty plan. I would note that if we were to follow the Kyoto pattern, Mr. Dion's poverty plan would raise poverty rates by 33% in just a decade. So that's something to look forward to if we ever have to deal with a government led by Mr. Dion.
Let's discuss.