Mr. Speaker, asking me how to create jobs is the easiest question in the world to answer, and I will answer it for this hon. member.
The biggest impediment to economic growth in this country is the cost of doing business. Our taxation levels are among the highest in the world. We have taxed ourselves out of the competitive market in our manufacturing, our service, our production. The answer to getting business and industry off the ground is to give them some tax relief.
If the government had turned the $6 billion it spent on the infrastructure program into a $6 billion tax break for private business, it would not have just created the 7,000 or 8,000 jobs that it did, it probably would have created about 40,000 jobs. As a matter of fact, I could be corrected but I believe the Minister of Finance some time back said that it would create 40,000 jobs but that just did not come about. If the government would get off the backs of private businesses and give them some tax breaks, some tax incentives to expand and develop and to grow and hire more people that would create economic growth.
I want to talk about the crown corporations. I realize that some crown corporations play a vital role. However that is no excuse for the government's inability to run those crown corporations at least at a break even point. We are not asking the crown corporations to make any money, just break even at least.
The hon. members on the other side always make Reformers out to be the slash and burners, the hackers and cutters. All we want is a government that can operate something at least at a break even point.