Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, we have been hearing quite a bit from the government over the past while about the fragile state of the economy. We have heard that phrase over and over again. Maybe we should be talking about the fragile state of the Canadian consumer, particularly in view of the kind of impact we're seeing from rising prices of food and fuel. That has a particular impact on people with a low income who pay a high proportion of their income for those items.
There was actually a Canadian Press story today suggesting that the consumer sector was a drag on the economy in the first quarter of this year. In fact April's data suggested that consumers in Canada aren't ready or able to add much punch to the economy in the second quarter. So we should remain concerned about their impact on the economy.
We also know that higher gas prices are taking a higher proportion of people's disposable income. So in view of that, the question is, if the economy is a main priority for the government, then why is holding one day of hearings the only action they are taking to deal with this issue? I think this is simply window dressing, and I think we ought to face that to start off with.
Let me turn to Mr. Corey with a question.
At previous hearings this committee has held on this subject, it was told that one measure that might help would be a system to monitor inventories across the country. The previous Liberal government actually initiated a system of that sort, but the Conservative government abandoned it. I don't know why they abandoned it, and I'd like to know if they're planning to replace it. You'd think if they were serious about this problem they would be. What can you tell me about that, please?