Mr. Speaker, compared to just before the recession, Canada's employment rate today is down, while the unemployment rate is up. There are 230,000 more jobless Canadians looking for work and another 200,000 who have just given up.
The Bank of Montreal calls the Canadian job market “anemic” and “lacklustre”.
Outside of one province, the rest of the country's growth in jobs this past year is a mere rounding error at 0.1%, and add to that sluggish wages, soft working hours, questionable job quality.
Does the government even care that this is a problem for middle-class Canadians?