Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives came to power, they showered their rich corporate friends with tax cuts. As a result of these favours, last year, these businesses paid the same amount in taxes as they paid six years ago.
But what about Canadians, the people the government is supposed to be working for? Last year, my constituents paid $8 billion in service charges. That is $2 billion more than in 2005.
Over the past four years, their tax contributions to government revenues have increased by $40 billion. The Conservatives told us that their policies would create wealth, but if that is truly the case, who is benefiting? The reality is that six years later, people are more in debt.
The personal debt rate has reached record highs because salaries have not increased and good jobs are hard to come by. The Conservatives could try to restore a balance to encourage our prosperity, but instead, they are wasting their time making up stories about the NDP.
Frankly, Canadians deserve better, and in 2015 the Conservatives will get what is coming to them.