Mr. Speaker, the minister's facts are wrong. Statistics Canada said last week that between 1996 and 2000 Canadian productivity growth was 1.4% compared to 2.8% in the United States, half as high.
Ten years ago the minister's seatmate said to Don Mazankowski:
—will he...bring the value of the Canadian dollar down right now?
The Liberals finally got their wish. Since they have been in power the loonie has dropped its value by 25%. Today it is losing value against the Mexican currency becoming the new North American peso.
Given the finance minister agrees that the value of a currency is a reflection of our productivity, what does this say about the Canadian economy under his watch?