Mr. Speaker, I will start by framing my comments on this particular motion today and perhaps at the same time answer the earlier question posed by the member for Elmwood—Transcona.
I will steal the words of the famous British economist, the economist whose theories and ideas have, for the most part, shaped a lot of modern financial policy in successful countries around the world, John Maynard Keynes, who said:
When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?
If Mr. Keynes had maybe addressed that question to our current Prime Minister and to the finance minister, their answer would have been, “Well, regardless of the facts, we are going to implement our ideologically driven agenda.”
I think that would probably be their answer to that question, because the facts have changed. They have changed considerably since 2007. I know that the current government and the finance minister in particular have trouble picking up on some trends and some of the trend lines, not just nationally but also globally.
We know that prior to the last election the Prime Minister had stated the country's finances were in great shape, in good order, and that we were going to have a surplus. We went into a national federal election and the tune changed a little bit, as it was then going to be a balanced budget. By the time the fall update came out, it was going to be a small deficit.
What we and all Canadians know now is that what we have received under the guidance of the government is a record amount of debt, a $58 billion deficit currently. That goes toward the accrued debt, which further handcuffs the federal government from making any kind of investment to better the lot of Canadians.
The government is driven by tax cuts and is trying to sell Canadians on life being better with tax cuts and on government being able to influence behaviour by cutting taxes. We have not seen any truth to that.
There are two cases in particular. One they put forward was the tax cut for registering our sons and daughters in sport in this country. The government said that would lead to an onslaught in participation and a noticeable spike in the participation numbers in this country.
That has not happened. The growth rates of sport in this country have continued to be gradual in many sports, just continuing to climb somewhat. We have seen no discernible spike because of that tax cut. We saw more of a spike back in 2003. That could probably be attributed to the gold medal the women's hockey team won in Salt Lake City. The women brought home the gold and motivated the next generation of young female athletes.
We said at that time when the government was putting forward those tax cuts that we should invest in facilities and leaders and coaches to give the young people an opportunity to go out and participate in a quality experience. That is what would motivate Canadians to take part in sport and lead to a healthier lifestyle. However, the government went with the tax cuts and missed the mark on that.
Let us talk about child care. We all know the story on child care. I believe the government was going to create 150,000 new child care positions with its tax cut for child care, which amounts to about $70 a month. That one is an easy one to tabulate, because I think the number of spaces created was a grand total of zero.
The tax cuts are not working. We are not opposed to corporate tax cuts, but this certainly is not the time to proceed with $3 billion in corporate tax cuts.
It is time to invest in Canadians. So many Canadians are experiencing hardship right now. If any of the 308 members of the House have not dealt with this issue in their constituency, then they should consider themselves fortunate.
Seniors in this country are against corporate tax cuts. They are having a tough time. They have to decide whether to fill their cupboards, fill their oil tanks, or fill their prescriptions. No Canadian senior should be put in that situation.
We need to invest in our seniors. Seniors give money back to their communities thereby giving back to the economy. Some of the pressure and anxiety on our seniors right now would be relieved if we invested in them.
Between 2005 and 2009 the number of Canadian seniors living in poverty increased by 25%. As lawmakers in this country we have to pay attention to that stark number.
Canadian families are finding it hard. Canadians want to receive extended care in their homes. These are quality of life issues. There are economic benefits to keeping people in their homes longer. Canadians want to help out. The facts show that a greater number of Canadians are having trouble with this.
A study was done by the Canadian Cancer Society. It was not a push poll, which the government likes to do when it wishes a desired outcome. The numbers that were brought forward in the study were very revealing. The study showed that 22% of Canadian families have been involved in unpaid caregiving. It also showed that 41% of Canadian families used their own personal savings to provide care to a family member and encountered financial hardship because of that. Sixty-five per cent of caregivers earn under $45,000 a year. I do not know how they do it. It amazes me. Almost 30% of those caregivers experienced financial difficulty and 30% said they could not afford to take time off work.
If we are looking at quality of life for the people who built our communities, built our country, then we should be looking at investing in seniors, investing in families. That is where we should be going.
I have said before, and it was well articulated by my colleague from St. John's South—Mount Pearl, that our party has no ideological opposition to tax cuts for corporations. Between 1998 and 2005 we were able to bring corporate taxes down from 29% to 21%, and that was substantive. That was a period of time when we saw balanced and surplus budgets.
Before that we made tough decisions. We made the necessary cuts. We invested in other areas such as research and development. We helped grow the economy and brought the unemployment rate down. We put money into a prudence account to pay down the debt. The Liberal Party did those things first and then went forward with corporate tax cuts.
We in the Liberal Party are not opposed to corporate tax cuts. What we are opposed to is corporate tax cuts at this moment.