Mr. Speaker, the member just described what Liberalism is all about. He said virtually the same thing as the finance minister said this morning on CBC television, which was that they are going to focus their spending on the things that really count to Canadians. He said that their values are health care, education, children and job creation. Those are the same things which the hon. member said.
Those are the words, but I want to ask the hon. member about the actions and contrast them to the words.
When we look at the action on health care, in fact federal spending has been reduced by 40 per cent. That is a fact. That is reality.
Unemployment has remained above 9 per cent for many months. The unemployment rate is almost as high as it was when the government took office in 1993. Not only are there 1.5 million people unemployed, there are another two million to three million who are underemployed, and fully a quarter of the workforce is afraid of losing their jobs. More important than the actual unemployment rates, bad as they are, is the fact that Canadians are having to worker harder than ever just to make ends meet. That is
making their lives very difficult. It is creating child poverty and problems within families.
Education funding has also been cut by the federal government by 40 per cent. That was the action. That is a fact.
The government shows its concern for children by reducing the average family income by $3,000. I am talking about take home pay. That is the pay which families have available to look after their kids. That has been reduced by $3,000 since the government took power. That is how the government shows care for children.
I would ask the hon. member to respond to the clear difference between the words that he and the finance minister speak and their actions over the last three years.