Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Minister of Finance for his first budget.
I think we now understand why it took a couple of extra months to write this document, because on the job growth strategy, he had to borrow and in fact endorse the NDP's job growth strategy put forward by our leader not 60 days ago. It is a curiosity as to why the Conservatives voted against the NDP's idea to lower the small business tax rate, why they voted against the NDP's idea to help out the manufacturing sector, and why they voted against the idea to help out innovation in this country. However, I will allow the minister to answer that.
My question is the following. After 10 years of failed economic strategy from these guys, with billions of dollars going out to corporations, 400,000 lost manufacturing jobs, 300,000 more Canadians out of work than before the recession, and youth unemployment at twice the national rate, if handing out billions to the wealthiest corporations does not work, why is the Conservative government stubbornly going ahead and handing out billions more to the wealthiest few with its income-splitting scheme?