Prime Minister Stephen Harper will give a progress report today in Saint John on the economic stimulus package.
Mr. Harper "will be able to give Canadians a real update on where we are on the economy, where we are on infrastructure spending," Transport Minister John Baird said yesterday on Question Period.
"We've made great progress since June," he said.
He dismissed the idea that Mr. Harper was giving the update in New Brunswick in order to avoid the Parliamentary Press Gallery.
"He doesn't want to live in a bubble in Ottawa. He wants to get out of the capital, talk to real people right across the country."
The Liberals have criticized the government's infrastructure program for failing to create jobs quickly enough. But the NDP says it won't vote with the Liberals if they table a motion to topple the Tories after the economic report card, because it wants changes that will improve employment insurance benefits for long-term workers to get through the House of Commons.