Canada in a recession, hope for middle-class remains bleak, says Thompson

New numbers from Statistics Canada confirmed Tuesday (Sept. 1) that Canada is now in a recession and hope for the middle-class under a Conservative government remains bleak, says Allan Thompson, federal Liberal candidate for Huron-Bruce.

"(Prime minister) Stephen Harper has misled Canadians about the state of the economy since this campaign began," he says. "Harper has also falsely claimed his government is running a balanced budget, when in fact, it has run eight consecutive deficits, including this year's budget. It's time for a leader and a plan that the people of Huron-Bruce can believe in."

According to the Conservative's own "balanced budget" legislation, proposed a few months ago, "recession" means a period of at least two consecutive quarters of negative growth in real gross domestic product for Canada, as reported by Statistics Canada, says Thompson.

"We've now seen two consecutive quarters of rough economic numbers," he says, "and yet Harper continues to deceive Canadians on the state of our economy.

"Every day when I'm knocking on doors across the riding, I'm hearing from people who are finding it hard to make ends meet day-to-day, who are worried about job opportunities for their kids here at home, or about putting away enough money for retirement."

Thompson says Canada's faltering economic management under Harper has hit Huron-Bruce hard, with unemployment in Huron, Bruce, Perth and Grey counties rising to 5.4 per cent in July, from 4.5 per cent, according to the Four County Market Labour Planning Board.

Harper also claims the contraction has been focused almost entirely in one particular section of the economy - the energy sector, says Thompson. "That's simply not true, as the current economic downturn in Canada has affected multiple sectors, including manufacturing, wholesale trade, construction, and transportation and warehousing."

Only the Liberal party has the plan to bring real change to Huron-Bruce, says Thompson. "Our plan will double federal infrastructure investment to nearly $125-billion over the next 10 years. Our plan will put more money into the pockets of the middle-class and provide the residents of this riding with the opportunities they deserve."