Madam Speaker, if things were all that great, we would not have the same number of unemployed, after three years of economic growth, as we had in 1993 before this government was elected. Will he eventually figure that out?
Is there anyone on that other side who will figure out one day that we have a job shortage, that we need jobs, that this government is doing nothing to help employment, that it is doing nothing to get the unemployed onto the labour market? That it is, instead, doing everything to keep them on the sidelines? Are they going to understand that it is abnormal that, but a few years ago in 1993, 77% of the unemployed were entitled to unemployment insurance benefits, while at this time only 44% are? After all, it is certainly not me who, along with my party, set the rules that apply to employment insurance claimants. It is his government.
Will the hon. member also realize that there are five million Canadians who live in poverty, including 1.5 million children? The figures have not changed in two years. If anything, they might be going up. Can he figure that out? Can he make the connection between, on the one hand, the government's repeated cuts to social programs and tightened UI requirements and, on the other hand, the workers being marginalized because they are no longer eligible for unemployment insurance benefits, not to mention the poor, who are the victims of the $42 billion in cuts? Will the member realize this at some point?
It is not so difficult to understand. Can he read the newspapers? Last week, Canadian economists were unanimous. They said that, two weeks ago, Gordon Thiessen had no business raising interest rates, that there was no overheating of the economy, and that the governor was contradicting his own statements of a couple of months ago.
Do you know what the Governor of the Bank of Canada said a couple of months ago? He said our economic growth could reach a cruising speed without causing inflation and requiring the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates. Two months later, he has changed his mind.
Every time he changes his mind, it prevents an unemployed worker from getting a job. Is this normal? This seems to me to be a matter of common sense. The people across the way should find out the facts, instead of talking nonsense.