Mr. Speaker, I was a little shocked to hear my Conservative colleague bragging about his party's record when the reality is far less rosy than he would have us believe. I do not wish to dwell too much on how the economy is affected by the falling price of oil, although this issue is problematic for many communities in Canada.
I would like to focus mainly on the Canadian government's failure to create jobs, which I am not proud of today. As I mentioned earlier, the unemployment rate in my region stands at 9.6%. The greater Saguenay area is lagging behind when it comes to job creation. The Conservative government has not done enough to create jobs.
Why are the Conservatives and my colleague opposite refusing to provide an economic update to reassure Canadians, parliamentarians and investors? Even the president of the Saguenay chamber of commerce said that the economy is ailing, retail is struggling and mining projects have been put on hold.