I find it astonishing, Mr. Speaker, that New Democrats are standing in the House of Commons and starting to actually defend the oil industry. It is astonishing that they are now the protectors of this great energy industry in this country.
The fact of the matter is that we have seen a decline in world oil prices. Canada does not determine world oil prices. The oil prices are obviously determined outside of this country. Canada is, in fact, a price taker on this measure. However, no government has done more to invest, whether it is investing in job-creation measures through lowering taxes, investing in research and development, or investing in true labour training initiatives to ensure that companies are as competitive as possible.
Since the depth of the recession in July 2009, the economy has created more than one million jobs. We have a very good job-creation record. When compared with the OECD, the G7, or any other international partners, this is a very good record.
With respect to the Parliamentary Budget Office report, I would respectfully disagree with my colleague. I actually read the report, and that is not what the report said. The report said that the government is within its framework in terms of balancing its budget going forward. Obviously, something like a decline in oil prices from $100 per barrel down to $46 per barrel was unforeseen. In the finance committee last fall, there was not one witness I can recall who said this is going to be where oil prices are in January of 2015. That was not the case. This was unforeseen. This is exactly why governments have contingency reserves in their budgets, and this in fact follows the long-term medium plan the government has had with respect to continuing to invest and create jobs and at the same time returning to a balanced budget in the medium term.