Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the member opposite would like me to get on with the work of developing a budget, which is why I have not been able to attend the House as often as I had before. However, there is a different view about the CIBC report. Let me quote Philip Cross, who is a former chief economic analyst at Statistics Canada. It is a little harsh, but let us get it in the record.
The number one issue facing this country is not income inequality, as CIBC claims, but the proliferation of pseudo-knowledge and sham data—nonsense free floating in our public discourse, but treated seriously by both mainstream and fringe media and commentators. It is the most important issue because it has ramifications for all the issues society faces and what needs to be done about it.
The point is that there are different views on these statistics, but it is clear that our government is focused on what matters most, jobs and economic growth. The fact is that almost 1.2 million net new jobs have been created since the recession. Both the IMF and the OECD forecast that Canada will have one of the strongest growth records among the G7 in the years ahead.
According to the International Labour Organization, something that might resonate with my NDP colleagues, according to its global wage report, Canada has the second best pay gains in the G20. With a fragile global economy, we must stay the course with our low-tax plan for jobs and growth. Our economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.8% in the third quarter of 2014 and it was higher than market expectations.
It is rich for the NDP members to criticize our record on job creation. They voted against every job creation measure our government has put forward.