Mr. Speaker, I want to point out a couple of facts that the hon. member may not be aware of, the fact for instance that the Conference Board of Canada recently gave Canada a C grade for income inequality in this country. We are now above the OECD average in terms of increasing inequality in Canada. We are witnessing the erosion of our social safety net, including EI and OAS. Moreover, we have gone from a $26 billion current account surplus to a $50 billion deficit. A key part of that has been the manufacturing deficit, which has increased six-fold. Indeed, Ontario now has 8% unemployment, and under the current government we have lost over 300,000 manufacturing jobs.
My question for the member opposite is why would the Prime Minister not meet with the premier of Ontario and the other premiers and leaders right across this country to address these pressing economic issues affecting the daily lives of Canadians in Ontario and right across this country? Why will they not meet?