Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary still has the patter down well and the rhetoric seems to still be there.
I am proud of my voting record. I have been standing up for the people of my riding, the people of Hamilton, and the manufacturing sector that is being devastated. I would say that right now the Governor of the Bank of Canada has realized how the economic downturn in the U.S. could negatively impact on middle class families in Canada and he cut the rates just yesterday.
Statistics released yesterday also show that economic output contracted 0.7% in December, a major decline of fourth-quarter exports caused by a drastic 2.7% decrease in the international shipment of goods. Manufacturing activity tumbled 3.2%, reaching the lowest level since 2001. Motor vehicle production dropped 27%, the largest monthly decline since production cutbacks in January 1990, which caused a 37% reduction in activity.
All these drops--