Dear Editor,

Another one of those moments that you do not know whether to laugh or cry: the Conservatives claim they have created 800,000 new jobs.

First, I think, Canadians have to determine what constitutes a job, because in my mind, there are jobs, and there is meaningful employment: two totally different animals.

One example would be the 1,100 new jobs the Conservatives created at one of Canada's former premium Canadian employers, Air Canada. How about this: 20 to 32 hours a week at $10.80 an hour works out to $216 a week for 20 hours and $345 for a 32-hour week, or at most, $16,560 a year. Is this one of the jobs that the Conservatives are so proud of?

Stephen Harper is taking us on a race to the bottom, and his glorious vision of Canada appears to look a lot like a poor, dirty, polluted, corrupt Third World country.

So the next time you see a homeless person, don't just assume that he or she is a lazy layabout, instead of a product of Harper's 800,000 new jobs which leave the workers deciding whether they want a roof over their heads or they want to eat.

It's a brave new world, but not much in it for the 99 per cent.

Wayne Clark, Maple Ridge