Madam Speaker, I listened with interest to the member and noted one particular aspect. I do have a comment and one specific question for the member.
He asked about the young people and what is there for them, that there are no jobs. There is no question there are still a large number of Canadians, particularly young people who do not have jobs.
Governments in themselves do not create jobs; businesses, and particularly small businesses do. Over one million small businesses in Canada employ over 70 per cent of Canadians. They are the ones who are the engine of this economy. They are the ones who are going to help to create jobs. The member well knows that over the past year the government has assisted in the creation of over 433,000 jobs.
I looked at the economic statistics for the last year. The fact is our growth rate over the last year was 4.25 per cent, the highest in the G-7. According to the OECD, Canada will continue to lead the industrialized world in growth for the next two years. The unemployment rate has dropped below the 10 per cent level and in fact we have virtually no inflation.
The member concluded his remarks by getting back to the essence of why he is here. It has to do with sovereignty, the separatist question and the separation of Quebec.
Would the member not admit that the ability of Canada to move forward and to achieve economic growth and greater job creation depends a great deal on the confidence level of investors in Canada and the certainty that people have with regard to the affairs of Canada? Would he not agree that once the referendum question is dealt with, once this issue which has cost Canada so dearly over all these years is finally resolved, Canada's economic position will be much stronger?