Madam Speaker, I am appalled at the level of poverty that still exists in the country. We have more poor children in Canada today than we had during the great depression.
The children are poor because their parents are poor. The Progressive Conservative Party in its last platform suggested that the basic personal exemption should be raised to $10,000. This would put much needed money in the pockets of those Canadians who really need our help, be it those who are negatively impacted by the downturn in the east coast fishery or Canadian farmers who are negatively impacted by the lack of support given to them.
Does my hon. colleague agree that with the federal budget the government has let down Canadian people who really need our help?