Employment  Mr. Speaker, Canada's youth unemployment rate is at 14.2% at a time when many young Canadians are working this summer without getting paid or they are not even working, yet the government is decreasing young people's employment services in our country. Do the Conservatives not realize that they are literally creating a new generation of young Canadians who cannot acquire the necessary skills to work independently and productively for our country?

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my hon. colleague from Wellington—Halton Hills the same question I asked his previous colleague from Cypress Hills—Grasslands with respect to the approach the government likes to talk about, the regulatory approach. The government never mentions anywhere in there that there might be a price to pay and that the price may be paid by the consumer.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the government likes to talk about its “regulatory approach to emissions”. On the face of it, without explaining it, it sounds like something that may have no cost that is then passed on to anyone. If regulatory approaches were perfect, we all would have used them a long time ago, but there are, of course, costs associated with them.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to present this petition signed by people from my riding, Westmount—Ville-Marie, more specifically Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. The petitioners are calling on the government to reconsider its decision to close the post office located at 5751 Sherbrooke Street West in Montreal.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present a petition from a large number of residents in my riding of Westmount—Ville-Marie who ask that the post office, known as the Montreal Victoria post office, be allowed to remain open. It is extremely important to the community from an economic and a social perspective.

Child Poverty  Mr. Speaker, I am sad to report that UNICEF's report card released on April 10 places Canada 17th out of 29 for overall well-being, but drops Canada to 24th when it comes to children. On material well-being, 14% of Canadian children live below the poverty line, ranking us 21st.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, the government just announced a tax hike on consumer goods to the tune of over $300 million a year at a time when the economy is fragile, household debt is at an all-time high, the unemployment rate is up and salaries are stagnant. This is the worst time to be raising taxes on almost 1,300 products that Canadians need in their everyday lives.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, I loved the damage control on hockey helmets on Friday morning, after clearly forgetting about it. The Conservatives have increased the taxes on Canadian consumers by over $300 million a year: paints and varnishes, shampoos, deodorant, tricycles, kitchenware, tableware, ballpoint pens, toothbrushes.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives just increased taxes on Canadians by over $300 million a year. Let us be clear. The exporting countries will not be the ones paying these taxes. This money will come out of Canadians' pockets. For example, the cost of shampoo, dishwasher detergent and even deodorant will go up by 3.5%.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, the Conservative tax on baby cribs, tricycles, blankets and everything is affecting almost 1,300 household items that most Canadians need. Now, at a time of record debt level, high unemployment and stagnant wages, the worst possible thing one can do is increase taxes.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, last fall the Minister of Finance went into a bicycle shop to announce and promote measures related to his omnibus budget bill. However, this spring in his budget he announced increases to the bicycle import taxes that would affect that very same shop owner. The Conservatives say this is not a tax, but yesterday the shop owner said this is going to hurt his business.

Privilege  Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order to bring to your attention a correction required in the written record of Hansard on Monday, during the debate on the NDP opposition motion. After the member for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo spoke, I had the opportunity to ask her a question, which was, essentially, how the government would deal with the more than $100 billion it has added to the national debt.

The Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome our new leader and a new era for the Liberal Party of Canada. Over 100,000 Canadians participated in the largest leadership vote in the history of our country. During the campaign, our new leader spoke abut the need to find a new way of doing things.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, whilst I sympathize with my hon. colleague when she talks about some of the tax increases that the NDP want to talk about, I would sure like to hear about what she and her government plan to do for the over $100 million they have added to the national debt since they came to power.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, listening to my hon. colleague, everything is sweetness and light and everything is exactly what all Canadians want. However, there is always a price to pay for these things. Since the government came into power in 2006, by this summer it will have added close $160 billion to the debt.