Mr. Speaker, it is a fact that our debt and taxes have soared over the last 20 years, but those are simply numbers.
What is really important is how the debt and taxes have affected the lives of men, women and children across the country. It would be a mistake to limit our calculation of the damage to the numbers of people who have been forced out of work because of business closures and plant shutdowns, as tragic as those things are.
What we do not see are the jobs that were never created in the first place because people who had dreams of starting their own business were greeted by a government created business environment that was hostile to business. High taxes, regulation and big government; these three have conspired to crush the incentive of thousands of Canadians who are desperately searching for a sign that their hard work will be rewarded.
While many people ingenuinely claim victim status these days, the real victims are the great silent majority who have done their best while successive governments have done their worst.
No new taxes, cut spending is their message.