Thank you, Mr. Deltell. I return the compliment. You may not know this, but your political commitment, your presence and your influence have had their impact on the Quebec area over the past years. I think you must know, and if not you may be happy to hear, that a lot of people respect that commitment, as they do your openness and welcoming attitude, as well as your closeness to citizens. These are all qualities I have had the opportunity to observe over the years. As a young politician—and I am not talking about my age—I am looking to these qualities for inspiration, in order to learn more quickly.
As for the central issue, we all know that unfortunately economic growth has been weak over the past 10 years. Moreover, 2015 was a particularly difficult year for Canada; we were in a recession for 6 months out of 12. For two years now, economic projections for Canada have been on a downward trend. Canadians are feeling insecure and are looking to the Canadian government to show leadership. This is true throughout the country, and not only in those areas where economic and social security is a particular challenge, that is to say the regions affected by the drop in the price of raw materials, of course.
For young people, and the not-so-young as well, looking for a job and economic and social security are crucial. That is even more important when the time comes to start a family. It is important that we support our children, especially when they are young. Investing in early childhood is consequently very important. If I may make an aside, I would point out that that investment happens at a time when families often face the most difficult time constraints. They are at the beginning of their careers, they need to invest in them to secure their future, they are grappling with difficult material circumstances, they have few savings, and in many cases, they have a mortgage. These young families face difficult constraints that impact their well-being in the short term. These constraints reduce their capacity to invest in the well-being of their children and ensure a promising future for them.
On many levels, Canadians want a recommitment from the Canadian government. They want us to support economic growth, and the middle class particularly. It is in that spirit that the government brought in the measures in budget 2016. We are going to invest these substantial resources in a responsible way. With your cooperation, it will be easier to manage. We have to see to it that these investments aimed at supporting everyone's economic well-being are both responsible and inclusive.