Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if the member was not listening, if he misunderstood, misheard or heard what he wanted to hear. I never said that the government created 700,000 new jobs.
I said that there are now 700,000 more Canadians working than were working in the fall of 1993. I am the last one not to give credit to the private sector, particularly to the small businesses that are creating jobs and that are getting help from this government in this budget to continue creating jobs.
May I mention only the new highest program which forgives contributions to the employment insurance plan by new businesses, small businesses that hire new people in the coming year.
The member asked about the definition of poverty. People can to to Statistics Canada or to the Canadian Council for Social Development and get a definition of poverty that is expressed in dollars. Let me talk about what poverty means to children in my community, the people I represent.
Poverty means not having enough food. Poverty means not having proper medical and dental care. Poverty means entering school at the age of four or five, already well behind their classmates in terms of the experiences they have had and therefore their ability to learn and profit from school.
Poverty means going to school not as well fed, not as well clothes and therefore immediately at a social disadvantage in the school environment. Poverty means going to school never having seen a computer or having had the opportunity to play with a computer as many better off Canadian children have had.
Poverty means being behind the eight ball from the time people are infants. It means their mother being less well nourished and therefore their being born less healthy, with less energy, less able to thrive, less able to learn, less able to enjoy life.
That is my definition of poverty. I see it in my community every day.
I do not know the details of the program the member mentioned. I do know that the self-employment program under the EI plan has been available generally to people seeking EI. It was over subscribed to half way through the two years I have been aware of its existence.
If we question that in this country women particularly are economically disadvantaged and it is the reason for many children
living in poverty in this country and that we need to do something to correct the situation, I do not think we are facing the reality about the inequalities that exist in our society.