Mr. Speaker, I will respond to my colleague in this way. I believe that we must have a strong economy in order to address the important social issues and social programs that we have always valued. I also believe that Canada is a partnership where each of the provinces comes together with the federal government to solve our problems.
In my remarks I was very careful to be clear that the job is not yet done. While the United Nations sees us as the best in the world and while private forecasters say we are doing better than any of the G-7 countries, we know we have problems that must be addressed. Unemployment is still too high. Child poverty is a real issue. There is a need for educational opportunities for research and development and innovation.
The strategy of the government is to provide a balanced approach where we will work together with our partners in the provinces to achieve our goals. We will do it in a responsible way. We will do it with the hand of partnership and in a fiscally responsible and prudent way so that around the world people will know that Canadians are working together.