Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to my colleague, this country does not need more studies, it needs action. The time for studying is over. We know what the problem is, as my hon. friend articulated very well in his short speech. Many solutions have been brought forth not only in the House but by articulate individuals from around the country and around the world. Those solutions are eminently doable.
If we had a royal commission we know what would happen. The royal commission would drag on for a month of Sundays. It would cost the taxpayers tens of millions of dollars and would only force the House to engage in another series of studies to study what we have already studied. That is what we tend to do in this place. Rather than act we study.
I know my hon. colleague has a very big interest in this. Study after study has shown that Canada is lacking in productivity. Canada's competitiveness has been dropping for many years. What we need to do is drop our tax rate fairly. We need to decrease the rules and regulations that choke the private sector. We need to invest in those pillars of our economy that are very supportive and useful in getting people back to work and in improving the lifestyles of Canadians, pillars like research and development, education and many others.
If we are able to do that we will build a secure economy and we will have a strong network of social programs to take care of those individuals who cannot take care of themselves, a concern of this hon. member and all hon. members.
The erosion of our economy does more than hurt the rich. It hurts primarily the poor and middle class. The rich can go anywhere they want. The poor and middle class are stuck here doing what they have to do. They do not have the choice. The rich have a choice, the poor do not.
Would my hon. colleague plead with finance minister to bring in the suggestions raised here, to lower the tax rate fairly, increase the minimum allowance on a personal basis, immediately call for rationalization of the rules and regulations, keep what we need, eliminate what we do not, and give Canadians the power to be the best they can become.