Mr. Speaker, the hon. member opposite went on about his great pride in the country, which I share with him.
He talked about wanting to have the opportunity for everybody to have a fair shot at economic prosperity. What is missed here, which I think the Reform Party generally misses, is that government has a role to help both the people and the areas of the country that are least advantaged.
Reformers are right in that we have an economic responsibility as a government. We fulfil that economic responsibility very well. But what they forget and what they ignore is the fact that government has a second responsibility, a social responsibility. The people of Labrador and Newfoundland know very well that the Reform Party if given an opportunity to govern would spend its time strictly on economic affairs and would forget the social responsibility. That is what the future would hold if that party were in power.
The government when it governs the people must remember that it has that dual responsibility. Yes, it must manage the economic affairs of the country well and it has a firm responsibility in that area. However, it has a social responsibility to ensure that those regions which are less advantaged and those individuals in society who are less advantaged have an opportunity as well.