The brief answer, Mr. Speaker, is yes we can, but the longer answer is that governments make choices. It is not only about what the government is proposing to do in the future. It is chewing up dollars on things like the GST and providing $1,200 to families, many of whom do not need that money like others do.
Let me go back to what my mother told me years ago. She said, “If you go into politics, you will do the right thing, because you have to understand, you go into public service to help those who need help and not those who do not”. I do not know how long I will serve in this chamber, but I know that while I am here, this will be my cause.
In budget 2006, the gap between rich and poor was increased and that is unconscionable. Canadians have told the finance committee that it is wrong. It is not the Canadian way. I want to see in budget 2007, as do Canadians, a recognition that all Canadians deserve the attention of the government, and not just the well to do.
