Mr. Speaker, my question is to the finance minister.
The minister's rosy portrait of the economy ignores the glaring condemnation of the council of welfare and now Statistic Canada, two of our most respected organizations. It is a tragedy that there are 1.2 million more Canadians living in poverty than in 1990. Hungry people do not need empty speeches. They need jobs to fill empty stomachs.
When will the minister stop taking credit for jobs that are substandard or do not exist and initiate a job creation program that works?