Mr. Speaker, I also said in my presentation today that, if we have come this far in Canada, it is because we asked huge sacrifices of Canadians, not just workers but all Canadians.
In 1993, when we were faced with an incredible debt, a $42 billion deficit and a stagnant economy, what did we have to do? We had to put in place a very restrictive plan for the use of all our resources and we had to make major cuts. The public was behind us, it was supportive.
Now, I do not think Canadians would ever again allow a government to accumulate such a huge deficit. So, Canadians agreed with our initiatives and they are the ones who made these sacrifices. There is no question about that.
In spite of these circumstances, we were able to get the economy going again and keep our inflation rate very low while maintaining interest rates at an acceptable level. The national unemployment rate has gone down and we have managed to preserve social programs, although they had to be redefined. Clearly, that redefinition of our social programs affected some groups more than others. This is why the government, in its throne speech, demonstrated its commitment to making investments wherever necessary.
The impacts of our employment insurance reform were significant, because that was a comprehensive reform. We are currently looking at these impacts with a view to making improvements.
What do we find in the throne speech? It deals with the parental leave for women, for example. Did I not hear the hon. member for Acadie—Bathurst say “Congratulations on extending the parental leave from six months to one year and making it more accessible”?