Mr. Speaker, unfortunately for my colleague opposite, I think she will find, when her leader's office members review her statement tonight, that they will be quite disappointed in the fact that she pointed out that the Leader of the Opposition did raise the Dutch elm disease comment. It is a comment he has stepped back from, because he knows that the economic argument in there has been largely debunked by the Statistics Canada numbers, which have shown a growth in the manufacturing sector in Canada.
The member should also know that the manufacturing sector growth in this country is not just determinant on one sector being dependent on another. It is determinant on things such as input costs. I would suggest the member look at the policy of the recent Ontario government that increased electricity rates, which is an input cost of manufacturing.
The NDP hears something like Dutch elm disease and does not look at the oil sands or support them as a job creator. It is failing to look at basic economic principles on the validity of some rhetoric that the NDP leader might put forward.
The Leader of the Opposition did step back from these comments, because he knows how important this sector is to the economy. The member should review this statement and hopefully retract it in the House of Commons.