Madam Speaker, the member for Medicine Hat connected the standard of living with the low dollar on several occasions in his speech. Would he not agree that the standard of living is actually tied to purchasing power as well as to the level of the dollar? As a matter of fact it is more tied to purchasing power.
All the member has to do is travel to Italy, England, any European country or Japan, for that matter, to find that the real cost of consumer goods, particularly essential goods, is far higher in comparison to Canada. I am talking about rent, foodstuffs and whatever.
This is probably the reason we are still considered by the United Nations as one of the richest countries in the world. Our standard of living is very high. Even though our dollar is low relative to other countries, its purchasing power in Canada is still very high.
The argument he presented, in particular with respect to the low dollar, does not hang together very well. What we are talking about is that when we have a low dollar relative to other nations it attracts investment in the country and encourages the buying of exports. It is a net positive thing rather than a negative thing.
I would like to pose a direct question to the hon. member on the suggestion that somehow the Americans would agree to set their dollar aside for some kind of pan-American special currency. Does he not agree that is pie in the sky, a total dream? The Americans are tough guys in the world when it comes to monetary policy, fiscal policy and economics, and there is no way they would ever give any time to such an idea.