Mr. Speaker, what is really important is how good this program is. It was so well received that even the Montreal Gazette editorial stated:
The Tories also took the right tack on the Canada Summer Jobs program...The previous program gave local MPs far too much say over who in their ridings got money to hire summer students, a system that was ripe for abuse.
We are focusing on creating jobs that would not be created otherwise. Perhaps this member's friends now in fact have created some jobs that meet the criteria. We want to provide funding for students that have long duration and provide high-quality work experiences. Maybe his friends have met that criteria.
We are proud of the program because it is about students and it is for students. The opposition is fighting to restore an old program that allowed MPs to have direct influence in how taxpayers' dollars were spent. We have ended this culture of entitlement. We maintained--