Industry committee  Housing costs are a major concern, as are everyday costs for transportation and mobile-phone plans. Middle-class Canadians worry about inequality. Thank you for making such an accurate observation. It must be said that the Toronto-Dominion Bank also indicated that inequality was a major issue for our economy.

Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 2  The Prime Minister and the former minister of finance wanted our input. Our input has given something that is so strong for middle class Canadians. When they look at that and recognize the situation that exists there, I think they will find that they are extremely proud of the work we have done. Stronger families means stronger communities.

Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1  Now, that does not take into account the fact that the government appears to be reversing itself again on previous commitments to seniors, rural Canadians, and middle-class Canadians. Remember the Conservative's income-splitting promise? Remember their promise to cut the excise tax on diesel in half? What has happened with those things? This is 2014, and that was a commitment from 2011.

The Budget  All of those commitments have been broken. All of this comes as a leaked government report shows that middle class Canadians, students, seniors, farmers, truckers, and nearly all other people who work for a living are falling behind. Household bills are growing, but incomes are stagnant. Middle class Canadians are putting groceries, rent, and tuition on their credit cards, and they need help.

Committees of the House  Our government recognizes that protectionist restrictions stifle our exporters and undermine Canada's competitiveness, which in turn adversely affect middle-class Canadian families. When the Canadian-EU trade agreement is fully implemented, over 95% of the EU tariffs would be eliminated on our world-class agricultural exports, including oats, wheat, and canola oils.

Taxation  The Conservatives' proposal on income splitting will not help a single mom trying to make ends meet. Not just that, it will do nothing for the vast majority of middle-class Canadian families. In fact, 86% of families will not get a dime. New Democrats have concrete proposals that would help millions of Canadians, such as a plan for affordable child care and a federal minimum wage.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, middle-class Canadians are better off under our Conservative government. The median net worth of Canadian families has increased by 45% since we have come to office. For the first time, middle-class families here in Canada are earning more and are better off than their American counterparts.

Manufacturing Industry  Speaker, while the Conservatives are happy to help the rich get richer, they completely abandon middle-class Canadians. Four hundred thousand good manufacturing jobs have disappeared under the Conservatives, 4,100 in the city of Peterborough alone, yet they cannot seem to stir themselves to action.

Taxation  Speaker, as I mentioned, two-thirds of the benefits will go to middle- and low-income Canadians. Under our government, middle-class Canadians are better off under our Conservative government. The median net worth of Canadian families has increased by 45% since we have taken office. For the first time, middle-income Canadians are actually better off than Americans.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, even if they include these other measures, the Conservative plan gives middle-class Canadians a small fraction of what it gives to the member for Durham. What do 85% of families get from income splitting? Nothing. Single parents? Nothing. Two teachers in the same tax bracket?

Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 2  Housing costs are a major concern, as are everyday costs for transportation and mobile-phone plans. Middle-class Canadians worry about inequality. It goes on, and it does not describe a very happy middle class in this country, I might add. To get a sense of how those trends are affecting people, they talked to a number of them.

Canada-Korea Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Our government recognizes that protectionist restrictions stifle our exporters and undermine Canada's competitiveness, which in turn adversely affects middle-class Canadian families. International collaboration in science, technology, and innovation is increasingly important to our ability to stay at the leading edge. Canada generates about 4.1% of global knowledge, despite accounting for just 0.5% of the world's population.

Finance committee  Former governments have introduced RRSPs, RESPs, and you now have pooled registered pension plans and tax-free savings accounts. I certainly take the point that a lot of middle-class Canadians look at these credits and get somewhat confused. Is there a way perhaps for the government to look at simplifying them all? They all serve a definite purpose, though: RDSPs are for persons with disabilities, and RESPs are for families who obviously want to have kids go to post-secondary institutions.

Taxation  Thanks to our low-tax plan, the average Canadian family already pays $3,400 less this year in taxes than under the previous Liberal governments, and now the Liberal leader wants to take that away from Canadians. Only someone as out of touch with middle-class Canadians as the Liberal leader could possibly suggest removing tax cuts with the universal child care benefit. Only our Conservative government can be trusted to balance the budget while reducing the tax burden on Canadian families.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, the government remains out of touch with the needs of middle-class Canadians. In Ontario, families are struggling to make ends meet, and even the government's so-called favourite economist, the Prime Minister, says that employment has flattened recently.