The Economy  It is rewarding corporations for non-performance and is overcharging Canadians for an employment insurance program that the Conservatives are using as a deficit-fighting tool. When will the government put middle-class Canadian families first?

Canada Labour Code  I hope the hon. members sitting on both sides of the House come to their senses and begin to side with the interests of working and middle-class Canadians instead of large corporations. Parliament should be focused on the needs of hard-working Canadians. The passage of anti-scab legislation would go a long way toward assuring ordinary working and middle-class Canadians that their government actually cares about them in what, for many, has become a daily struggle just to make ends meet.

Canada-Panama Free Trade Act  However, government should be looking to stimulate the Canadian economy. Government should be looking to make sure middle-class Canadians are taken care of. They say that through hard work poor Canadians can raise their living standard, that over time there will be progress, and that we can build local economies where small businesses thrive as we forge a national economy where nobody is left behind.

Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act  Our role in this House is to defend the letter carriers and mail sorters, who are ordinary, middle-class Canadians. Sometimes that is going to make some members uncomfortable. We make no apologies for that. We are here to do a job, and we will continue to debate and stand up for the working people of this country.

The Budget  The 103 NDP members are listening to Canadians, and we will pressure this government to change its policies, which are not good for ordinary families, for middle-class Canadian families or for the poorest Canadians. That is our mission and what we will continue to focus on in the years to come.

The Budget  That is the context in which this budget was developed. One needs to ask what kind of measures the government is taking to actually help middle class Canadians. What it is doing is actually cutting back on public services, services that provide supports to middle income Canadians. It is middle class Canadians who benefit the most from the services the federal government produces.

The Budget  It is hard to work with a government that consistently puts the interests of Bay Street, the banks and the multinational oil companies ahead of middle-class Canadians but, putting that aside, we were willing to try to make it work because a budget is an opportunity to get results right now for Canadians. The Prime Minister could have introduced practical and affordable measures to help families make ends meet each month.

The Budget  He has abandoned the unemployed, yet banks and oil companies continue to get huge gifts. Why does the Prime Minister prefer to have an election instead of helping middle-class Canadian families?

Competition Act  This is particularly important at this time, as the banking disputes over competition have been increasing over the past few months, whether it is in relation to the oil and gas sector where consumers are being gouged at the pumps by abusive practices which hurt the wallets of ordinary working and middle-class Canadians, or some other issue. I heard my hon. colleague from Winnipeg North talk about the gas prices in his riding. I believe he said it cost $1.20 a litre. In Sudbury right now it is close to $1.30.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, soon the dream of buying a house will be out of reach for middle-class Canadians. In B.C. the median price of a home is over $400,000 while the average family income is only $68,000. Yet the Conservatives' only plan is to cut a billion dollars next year. These cuts also eliminate funds for social housing, aboriginal housing, and seniors in need.

Housing  Speaker, maybe the parliamentary secretary should read his own government estimates because the bottom line is that the Conservatives are not helping middle-class Canadians. In Vancouver the average price of a two-storey home is a million bucks. That is 10% higher than last year. Prices have also jumped close to 10% in Regina, Halifax and St. John's.

Business of Supply  Those appear to be the main items, certainly the biggest spending items, on its agenda. The Liberal Party suggests that as we come out of recession, as a lot of middle-class Canadian families are struggling with the highest level ever of household debt, that it is time to give those middle-income families the priority, the attention and the break. After all, the large corporate sector in the country has already had a 35% tax cut.

Taxation  When will the Prime Minister listen to Canadians, reverse those corporate tax cuts, and give middle-class Canadians a break instead?

Business of Supply  But our immediate economic priorities start and end with reducing the tax burden on middle-class Canadian families because they are facing ever-growing demands in terms of caring for family members, pensions, post-secondary education and sustained employability. After five years under the Conservatives, the situation of Canadian families has not improved in any way, and $21 billion for the untendered purchase of stealth fighter planes, megaprisons and tax cuts for big corporations will certainly not bring them any relief.

Pensions  Why will the Prime Minister not drop his long-standing opposition to the CPP and help middle-class Canadian families?