Mr. Speaker, like others, I want to congratulate the member for Crowbush on his election to the House of Commons. As he wins by large majorities he obviously is held in high esteem by the constituents of that riding.
In earlier comments, the member mentioned that he comes from a part of the country that knows what works and what does not. When we came back to Parliament this week we were faced with a very severe situation of an economic downturn, not only worldwide but in this country. We get reports every day that this country is either now in or is heading into deficit.
During the election the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance spoke to reporters and Canadians and told them that was not possible. In fact, the Prime Minister said that all we were going through was a buying opportunity in the stock market.
I will not blame everything on the Prime Minister. The problem started in the United States with an ideology of capitalism, lesser and lesser governments, lower and lower taxes, especially for the rich, and the deregulation of all industries, whether it be the mortgage, the banking or the food safety industries. This did not work for Reagan and it did not work for George W. Bush. Although we are only in the first couple of years of this mandate, I am not sure it will work in this country.
The member across said that he knows what works and what does not work. Does he have any concern that the ideology with which this country is now governed might not work?