Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my hon. colleague on his 14 years of service in the House. The only disclaimer I would put on that is it is unfortunate his role is to try to separate this wonderful country instead of bringing it closer together. However, I do respect my hon. colleague for his passion and his representation of his constituents. We only wish that he would represent Canada as a whole and as strongly as we on this side of the House wish to do.
The hon. member has spoken many times in the House about jobs, and I do recognize his passion about this. However, I will quote from a Globe and Mail article, which seems to be the paper of the day according to the Liberal opposition. This is from a July 2007 Globe and Mail article:
Employers are on a hiring spree and not just in the West—Quebec's job creation is soaring. The Canadian economy added 34,800 jobs last month, double what was forecast...
The province of Quebec added 70,000 jobs this year.
That is good news and it is an indication of the strength of the Canadian economy. The strength of all provinces, including Quebec, is based on the strong leadership from the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance.
We hear comments about the lack of investment in housing. Let me quote another figure if I could. In budget 2007, $3.3 billion went to support youth, housing and programs for legal aid and refugee settlement. Those are a number of the issues about which the hon. member spoke.
I am pleased to hear the hon. member is not supporting—