Mr. Speaker, Canada needs urgent action to address the plight of millions of unemployed and underemployed Canadians who have been left out and left behind. The jobless figures are a scandal with 1.4 million Canadians out of work and another 800,000 forced to settle for part time jobs.
The current government shows no sense of urgency. The only targets the government has set are inflation targets. Canada needs a serious commitment to attainable targets on income levels, unemployment rates, job creation and sustainable economic growth rates.
The government must adopt a twofold strategy which tackles, not creates, barriers to opportunity for Canadians, including banks with record profits which do not reinvest in Canadians or our communities, institutions which think short term, and employers who fail to train.
The government must use its power to intervene to promote economic development. What about the red book promise to create jobs, jobs, jobs? This government needs to answer the urgent need to get Canadians and Canada working again. The government has a role to play and it should perform it.