Mr. Speaker, members of the House might know the story of old King Canute, who hundreds of years ago took his throne to the beach, ordered the tides not to rise and his feet got wet.
I would submit that the minister is Canada's new King Canute. He goes to bankers and says, “Let the bank rates come down”, and the bankers say, “Get lost, king”. Then he goes to the retailers and says, “Let the prices come down”, and the retailers say, “Get lost, king”.
The point is that the minister is engaging in blatant posturing in matters over which he has achieved nothing and has no leverage. Is he not embarrassed at this blatant political posturing?