Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely appalling that the member opposite would consider low taxes, job creation, and leading the economic recovery in the G7 as dull. It just indicates where the NDP is coming from.
Let me just paint a picture of what an NDP government would look like. Unfortunately, we have had experience with it in Ontario.
In 1990, there was a small deficit forecasted, but in the first year the New Democrats decided that a small deficit was not good enough, so they decided to go for a $2.5 billion deficit. In their first budget and spending, they increased it up to a $9.16 billion deficit. In five years, the Ontario debt rose from $20 billion to $60 billion, the Ontario credit rating was downgraded twice, and taxes rose to the highest marginal rates in North America.
In 1991, there were 5.3 million people working in Ontario. By 1995, when the NDP left office, there were 122,000 fewer working in the province.
The New Democrats re-opened collective bargaining agreements. They made civil servants work unpaid days. Now they want to bring that plan to Canada.