Employment  Mr. Speaker, we have already acknowledged that there were problems with the program. That is why we made adjustments. We proposed financial penalties and even prison terms for anyone who abuses the temporary foreign worker program. We encourage employers to hire Canadians before hiring foreign workers.

Employment  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member immediately realized that his comments were unacceptable. He has apologized, and I think we can move forward from here.

Employment  Mr. Speaker, here is what the New York Times actually said about the middle class in Canada, “Life in Canada, Home of the World’s Most Affluent Middle Class”. The article then compares the Liberal era, actually, saying, “After-tax middle-class incomes in Canada — substantially behind in 2000 — now appear to be higher than in the United States”.

Employment  Mr. Speaker, we have a real plan. It is called the low-tax plan for jobs and growth. It has put $3,400, on average, into the pockets of the average Canadian family. The Liberal Party has a one-point plan for the middle class: raise taxes. We oppose the high-tax plan of the Liberals.

Employment  Mr. Speaker, first, of the 1.2 million new jobs created, 85% are full time, 80% are in the private sector and approximately two-thirds are in high-wage industries. We are reducing taxes not only for families but also for the companies that hire workers. The Liberal Party believes that the budget will balance itself, but that is not true, just as it is not true for families' budgets either.

Social Development  Mr. Speaker, the plan is not to offer a few people a settlement. Rather, my predecessor came up with a common sense action plan to have specialists within the department look at every case that was currently under appeal and find those for which we could find a speedy resolution without even having to put them before the tribunal at all.

Social Development  Mr. Speaker, these are very difficult cases. We are talking about the Canada pension plan disability program. The fact is that we have a plan in place now to address the backlog by using specialists within the department in order to resolve as many of the outstanding appeals as humanly possible.

Social Development  Mr. Speaker, we acknowledge that the waiting list is unacceptable. That is why my predecessor ordered his departmental officials, his experts, to look at every case in appeal right now, in order to resolve them before they even make it to the tribunal. That will enable us to settle them much more quickly.

Employment  Mr. Speaker, we provide funding to businesses to train young workers in all sectors, and hundreds of thousands of young people have already benefited. However, I can assure my hon. colleague that tax hike plans like those put forward by his party and the Liberal Party will hurt not only workers, but also the small and medium-sized businesses that hire them.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, we had a very thorough debate on this question of whether people should be required to show ID when they vote. The opposition fearmongered and raised alarm bells, and Canadians heard all of these warnings. However, when the debate was said and done, 87% of Canadians agreed that it is reasonable for people to show ID when they vote.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, the Liberals and the New Democrats want to let people vote without showing identification. We think it is reasonable to ask people to show ID to identify themselves when voting in an election. Fortunately, surveys show that 87% of Canadians agree with us. Our position is reasonable, and we believe that we will win in court.

National Capital Commission  Mr. Speaker, our government is obviously working on improving the quality of life of all people in the national capital region. I have the honour to represent the Ottawa side, but I would be quite honoured to work with the hon. member and other members of the House to help the people on the other side of the river.

Employment  Mr. Speaker, we obviously sympathize with those families who are suffering through this difficult time, but the member's question contained a clear falsehood. He said there has been no help. In fact, we have already hosted over 1,500 Target employees for information sessions on the benefits they can receive through our generous employment insurance system, on the training that is available to help them retool for new jobs, and on the jobs that are already available and vacant looking for workers at this very time.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has it wrong, but that is not surprising coming from a party whose leader thinks that budgets balance themselves. Obviously, we have a plan not just to balance the budget, but also to create jobs. We have already created 1.2 million net new jobs through our tax cuts.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, there is a plan. It is called the low-tax plan for jobs and growth. It is no surprise that that member would get so many facts wrong in his question because his leader says that the budget will just balance itself. He probably thinks that household budgets work that way as well.