Madam Speaker, maybe the hon. member thinks he is in a bar.
In any event I would like to indicate to him that it is appropriate to listen very carefully.
Let me point out some of the facts that the hon. gentleman across the way raised. He painted a picture of an economy in terrible shape and yet GDP growth surged by 6% in the first quarter of 2002, outpacing that of the United States. Growth was well balanced in the quarter with a solid 3.5% raise in domestic demand led by a second quarter of strong residential investment growth.
Let us look at other facts. This strength in the domestic demand was fueled by a pickup in personal income growth. We also note that it is the result of strong recent employment performance. Real exports also contributed to the strength in growth of 5.9%, reflecting resurgence in the U.S. demand for Canadian goods and services. The recent strength in the Canadian labour market continued in April with an increase of 37,000 new jobs, bringing gains in the first four months to 207,000.