Mr. Speaker, listening to the Prime Minister and listening to my constituents in Lethbridge I could swear we were living in two different countries. The Prime Minister says it is the best of times. He says: "Relax. Everything this fine". He thinks things are okay just the way they are.
That is not what I heard this summer. These are not the worst times, but there is a deep uneasiness with the people I talk to. There is sort of a gut feeling that things are not as good as they should be.
What these people sense that the Prime Minister does not is that Canada can do better: better than the mess that the government has made of the armed forces; better than the laws that say only multiple murderers get a full sentence; better than the national unity plans consisting of flag giveaways; better than a debt that will reach $600 billion in a few weeks; better than a 9 per cent unemployment rate every single month for the last six years.
To those who know in their hearts that Canada can be more than this I say the following. Just because the Liberals have settled for second best does not mean they have to as well.