Mr. Speaker, economic and social mobility is the key measure of a successful democracy. The Fraser Institute recently showed that Canadians can get ahead and are getting ahead, that where someone is today does not determine where he or she will be in 10 to 15 years. Two of every five Canadians in the bottom group of income earners in 1990 ended up in the top 40% by 2009. However, despite our government's lowering of taxes, the cost of living and the cost of three other levels of government are squeezing Canadian families. Many are spending more than they earn just to pay their bills.
Meanwhile, the NDP's mentors at the Broadbent Institute have unveiled the biggest threat to Canadians' ability to get ahead. The $21.5 billion carbon tax would be just a start; they also want new sales taxes and an inheritance tax. That is the potential agenda of the NDP if it were ever to become the government. The socialists want to seize Canadians' lifetime savings after we die. That is something Conservatives would never do.