Mr. Speaker, one year ago I was elected the first member of Parliament for the riding of Thornhill. My constituents in Thornhill, along with other Canadians, honoured the Liberal Party with a second majority mandate. What a wonderful year it has been.
We have the first balanced budget in almost 30 years. In December we saw the creation of the one millionth new job since October 1993. The April unemployment rate was 8.4%, still too high but the lowest in nearly eight years. In the first quarter of 1996 Canada's gross domestic product grew at 3.7%, surpassing economist expectations. Canadians have recorded the largest personal income gains this decade. As the chief economist at the Royal Bank of Canada said, this shows a healthy, robust economy.
I take this opportunity to wish all members of the Liberal caucus a happy anniversary. I also say a very special thank you to the people of Thornhill for allowing me to come to Ottawa and try to make a positive difference.