Mr. Speaker, the minister quoted all sorts of figures the budget has miraculously put at the service of the general public for industry, research and technology. However, I would like to tell him about other figures.
In 1992, there were 1,218,000 Canadian children living in poverty. By 1996, that number had climbed to 1,481,000, an increase of 263,000 since this government came to office.
In 1992, 564,000 people over 65 were living in poverty, compared to 655,000 in 1996, that is 91,000 more.
In 1992, there were 991,000 families living in poverty, compared to 1,230,000 in 1996, an increase of 239,000 since this government took office. These figures are from the National Council of Welfare, which is the government's advisory council.
The government may say that $300 million will be given through the child tax benefit—