Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1  Our leader has been very clear. We must strengthen those at the heart of our economy, middle-class Canadians, who have not had a decent raise in 30 years. Liberals will continue to present solutions to grow our economy. Growth is very important. We all benefit when the Government of Canada gets its priorities right within the budget.

Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1  It is a CEO-designed loophole for someone who is paid in stock dividends. Conservatives claim to protect the middle class. I do not know a lot of middle-class Canadians who are paid in stock dividends, but the middle-class Canadians the Conservatives are focused on are given a $750-million tax break every year. That is $750 million for those who get paid in stock dividends, because they get taxed at a much lower rate than we mere humans.

Business of Supply  We have seen full-time jobs with benefits being replaced by part-time work. Too many middle-class Canadians have not had a real pay raise in a long time and too many young Canadians have yet to really start their careers. They face a labour market that still has 160,000 fewer jobs for young Canadians today than back in 2008.

Employment  As I said, he was talking about the situation in European countries like Greece and France. Let me tell members what we are doing in Canada. While we are letting middle-class Canadians choose how they want to spend and save their money, the Liberals and the NDP want to raise payroll taxes. The Liberal leader announced that he would dramatically hike payroll taxes on middle-class Canadians.

Taxation  He confirmed that he will increase taxes for families that earn less than $60,000 a year and use tax-free savings accounts to put money aside. Middle-class Canadian families know that they can count on our Prime Minister and our Conservative government to keep their taxes low and protect the benefits they already receive.

Financial Statement of the Minister of Finance  I have travelled far and wide across this country and had an awful lot of conversations with middle-class Canadians who are struggling with debt at the end of the year every year and certainly do not have $10,000 to put aside every year to benefit from it, whereas wealthy Canadians absolutely will.

Financial Statement of the Minister of Finance  The Conservatives said, “If only 11% maxed out, let us almost double it to $10,000”. I do not know about anyone else, but when I think of working-class, middle-class Canadians, some of those at the lower end of the economic scale, most of them do not face the predicament that at the end of the year they have $10,000 extra sitting in their pockets that they simply do not know what to do with.

Taxation  I know why the Liberal Party and the NDP oppose these tax reductions. It is because they want to hike taxes on hard-working, middle-class Canadians because they need that money to give to bureaucracy to fund their priorities. Hard-working, middle-class Canadians want more of their own money in their own pockets.

Business of Supply  Speaker, today I will speak about the Canadian economy and the challenges faced by middle-class Canadian families. Conservative government mismanagement and also its lack of vision for the Canadian economy and its future has dashed the hopes of middle-class Canadian families. I would like to take a moment to reflect on the reality of Conservative management of the economy.

Business of Supply  They cannot afford to buy a house or a condominium so they move back with their parents and work at part-time jobs. Most discouraging of all, for the first time ever, over 50% of middle-class Canadians fear that their children will not do as well as they did. All of this has happened under the Prime Minister's watch. The Conservatives are oblivious to these realities, but middle-class Canadians live them everyday.

Opposition Motion—Job Creation  We have certainly seen that in the auto sector. We have also allowed middle-class Canadians to be attacked by gouging, whether it is at the pumps or through fees charged for credit cards, banking, or cellphones. These are a whole series of important things that are necessary to function in a modern society that have been put on the backs of consumers and families alike.

Opposition Motion—Job Creation  In that respect, those two parties are united. The Liberal Party, alone, is fighting for middle-class Canadians. For that reason, we are very happy to oppose this ridiculous NDP motion.

Unemployment Rate  Not only would these tax hikes kill jobs, but they would also increase the cost of living for middle-class Canadians, which is counter to what the member is proposing. If the opposition member is really serious about creating jobs, the opposition should start by supporting economic action plan 2015.

Taxation  We want Canadians to know about the new family tax cut and the enhanced universal child care benefit, which will benefit 100% of families with kids, the vast majority of the benefits going to young and middle-income families. We know the Liberals and NDP would raise taxes on the middle class. Canadians know that it is only our government they can trust to lower taxes.

Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1  Could the member indicate what their position is on that tax-free monthly cheque that would be provided to middle-class Canadians to support them and their children? I am looking for clarification. The New Democrats are looking at saying yes to the Conservatives' plan. Would they consider saying yes to the Liberals' plan which is more generous?