Madam Chair, the hon. member for Capilano-Howe Sound was complaining about what he thought was an absence of reference to jobs in the finance minister's budget.
I submit it is because the hon. member's mind is in the past. In the old days when government was different people would look for large, so-called mega projects. Usually job numbers were attached to mega projects: 500 jobs, 1,000 jobs and so on.
What the member for Capilano-Howe Sound does not understand is that the economy has changed and the budgets have changed. The approach is much more sophisticated. For example, when we hear the finance minister talking about a reduction of 3 percentage points in interest rates, that means a lot of jobs. When the finance minister refers to more than a 20 per cent jump in trade, that means jobs. Every $1 billion in trade means 11,000 jobs.
To gain a fundamental understanding of the budget, one has to understand modern economics, the modern economy and modern government. I do not think the hon. member understands that. Perhaps he should go back to Yale and get a refresher course.
I ask the hon. secretary of state whether there is this new manifestation of jobs in the budget where something like a 3 percentage point drop in interest rates really does mean jobs.