Mr. Speaker, 1.6 million Canadians depend on Canada's natural resources sector for their livelihood. Energy, mining and forestry drove 15% of Canada's nominal GDP in 2011, while spin-offs accounted for another 5%. With so many Canadian workers depending on this sector for their livelihood, it is astonishing to hear the leader of the NDP refer to this sector as a disease.
While the NDP leader's dangerous Dutch disease theory has been dismissed by the economists and experts, the NDP leader continues to push this crazy idea. Yesterday, a report from the School of Public Policy, at the University of Calgary, was added to the list of experts dismissing the NDP leader's dangerous economic theories.
While the NDP leader continues to attack Canadian workers in this resource sector, our Conservative government is more than happy to defend them.