Mr. Speaker, through you, I would like to seek some clarification on the comments made by the member regarding the efficacy of the TFSA. He mentioned quite passionately the number of families in his area who are living very close to the poverty line and who are within only $200 of being unable to pay their bills each month, which I also think is a concern across Canada. By my simple calculation, it would take such families nearly 50 years to raise the money to make the maximum contribution to the TFSA.
We have also heard from other speakers today that almost 11 million Canadians use the TFSA. It has been my experience in the House that sometimes statistics are used not unlike a drunk uses a lamp post—more for support than illumination. However, I would like to take this opportunity to add a few more statistics so that we might have greater clarity around the use of the TFSA. There are 28 million Canadians who were eligible to make a contribution to it, but only 1.9 million Canadians made the maximum contribution. That is less than 7%. Therefore, I would ask the member opposite this. What about the other 93% of Canadians who were unable to take advantage of the maximum contribution to the TFSA that he has proposed?