Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.
The other day the Minister of Finance was reluctant to chastise Conrad Black for repudiating the Prime Minister's challenge to the private sector to create jobs. We noticed a similar reluctance in the budget.
Why in the budget, a budget which for the first time contained no job strategy, job creation predictions or anything like that, was there no attempt to implement policies which would actively discourage through the tax system or through other disincentives profitable corporations from casting off their employees?
Why was there nothing in the budget to meet the policy challenge the government enunciated with respect to challenging the private sector to create jobs and encouraging it to do so and discouraging it when it lays off people even though it is making profits.