Madam Speaker, sadly here we are today, and instead of focusing on issues that directly affect Canadians, the ones I hear about every time I go door to door, the Conservatives would prefer to talk about the Prime Minister.
On this side of the House, we respect our parliamentary institutions, including the independent officers of Parliament. They are a critical pillar of our democracy. The previous government showed absolute contempt for this place and its independent officers. We see that again with them refusing to accept that this issue has been dealt with by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. We committed to restoring Canadians' trust in government, something that Canadians had clearly lost faith in by the actions of the previous government. We are doing so through increased accountability and transparency.
Our government has made the unprecedented decision to publish the mandate letters for ministers. Until 2015, mandate letters were a secret and kept from Canadians. By making our ministers' mandate letters public, we are showing Canadians that we are serious about being open and transparent. Not only that, it permits Canadians to seriously evaluate the work of each individual minister to see if they have met the objectives the Prime Minister has set out for them. This is but one way that we are changing how government interacts with Canadians. As I said earlier, while the opposition fixates over a matter that is closed, we are continuing our important work toward serving Canadians.
Canadians have other priorities, such as going to work, paying their bills, and taking care of their families. That is truly what matters in their lives, and we get it. That is why we are focused on helping the middle class and those working hard to join it. One of the first things we did when we formed government was to increase taxes on the wealthiest 1% so we could cut taxes for the middle class. The middle class tax cut has benefited nine million middle-class Canadians. On average, single Canadians are getting to keep $330 of their hard-earned money each year. That goes to the idea of regaining the trust—