Mr. Speaker, some of the government members are laughing and they would when these sort of things come up and we talk about unfairness because, quite frankly, if I were on the side that had everything, I would laugh if I heard someone representing the other side because we would not want it to take hold would we? The reality is that in Canada under the Conservatives and the Liberals, the old adage--and it is old--still rings true: the poor are getting poorer and there are more of them, and the rich are getting a lot richer.
The tax cuts that have taken place in the last decade in most governments have benefited the very wealthy far more than they have benefited the poor. When the government talks about tax cuts, nine times out of ten the real benefit is for those who already have. It is so tough for an ordinary working family, let alone someone who is in poverty, who cannot find employment, who cannot find hope anywhere, to have a voice in this place other than the odd little crumb that gets tossed overboard and the government says, “See? We care about the poor”.
What we really need is fundamental change in terms of fairness. The question is, is everybody in Canada being treated fairly by our tax system? The answer is no.
As we see the Conservative government's agenda so far and its plans going into the future, I say to the hon. member who asked me the question that they are not going to change. They are not going to benefit the very people he was asking about, but indeed, the government will take care of its Conservative friends. It will make them very happy and will help them to continue putting money into their war chest and hence the laughter and hence the Conservative agenda.
The poor are not served well--