Madam Speaker, I also had, coincidentally, an annual general meeting in Vancouver Kingsway this weekend. What I heard from the people who attended my meeting was just how desperately people are struggling right now. The figures back that up: 50% of Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque; one in four parents, according to the Salvation Army, are cutting down on their food intake so that they have enough food for their children; and 80% of Canadians are worried about the holiday spending coming up, yet my hon. colleague voted against a GST cut that would reduce the expenses of an average family by several hundred dollars.
I was in the House last week when the Conservatives called that chump change. I wonder if she agrees with that. Does she think that saving an average family a couple hundred dollars this Christmas is chump change? Everybody in this place earns over $200,000 a year. Does she not agree with me that it shows a disdain for the working and poor people in our country that is unbecoming to this chamber?