Mr. Speaker, I have some questions about the Canada 150 grant because I have a number of places in western Canada, particularly in northwestern B.C., that are looking for opportunities.
I noticed that there was not enough in the budget document about western Canada specifically. I know the member is the Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification so this is important to her. I know there is money there for a telescope in Hawaii, and that is good, but there seems to be a bit of an absence, a bit of a taking for granted. I know the minister has some answers as to what I may have missed in the 500 pages about western Canada specifically.
Also, what has changed in this budget document is the typical Canadian family. I do not know if members have followed this but in every budget the Conservatives roll out the typical Canadian family is usually made up of two parents, a man and a woman, and two kids. In previous budgets, the woman in that typical family was earning more than the man, but were earning some equivalency. In this latest budget, the woman has taken a dramatic pay cut. I do not know if everybody noticed this, but she took a $50,000 pay cut in order to apply for income splitting.
Is this the Conservative imagination at work here in terms of what the typical family needs to be, which is that women will have to take this pay cut in order to take advantage of something like income splitting? Canadians are not looking for that. They are looking for a representational government—