Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Charlottetown.
With Monday's budget speech and the follow-up spin control true to form, the Conservative government is again trying to paint a picture of itself that has nothing to do with the reality that lurks behind its public facade. Sure there are bells and whistles in this budget. There are baubles and trinkets. Not surprisingly, there are plenty of little economic treats that can be digested in unreflective sound bites.
As is so often the case with the Conservatives, things are not really as they seem. Despite all the showy gestures behind all the jolly generosity, there is actually very little of substance or vision in the budget. Never before has a finance minister spent so much of Canada's hard earned wealth and yet managed to accomplish so little for Canadians.
For my own constituents in Brampton I see nothing of substance or vision. I see no initiatives that will immediately address hospital wait times, and the real and daily hardships that result for the people of Brampton because of them.
I see nothing like a long term, predictable funding mechanism to address public transit. Nor do I see an integrated and comprehensive plan to reduce traffic gridlock. Ad hoc projects will never defeat this wasteful hardship affecting the well-being of real people in Brampton each and every day.
I do not see any broad based tax relief for the taxpayers and the businesses employing Brampton's residents. Certainly, there are targeted cuts, but they add up to a whole lot of nothing for most Canadians, especially for our brothers and sisters and our sons and daughters who are working hard today so they might raise a family in comfort tomorrow.
As important as all of these considerations truly are, I am rising in the House today to call attention to an unsettling and disturbing silence that lurks in the budget and is obscured by the Conservative Party's shrill and deceptive fanfare. Indeed, it is a disturbing and unsettling silence that lurks at the very heart of the Conservative government. Moreover, it is a silence which, I think, concerns all Canadians.
Today I want to call attention to how little attention the Conservative government pays to the reality of racism as it exists in Canada today. I see nothing in last Monday's budget which improves the federal government's activities to combat racism or anything that directly and immediately improves the conditions of a new visible minority in Canada.
It is tempting, I suppose, to say that racism is no longer a reality in Canadian society and that there is no longer any need for substantial federal funding to combat racism, to promote inter-cultural understanding, and to encourage new Canadians to participate in community and civic life.
It is very easy to hope that Canada's splendid economic successes initiated by previous Liberal governments were to the benefit of all Canadians, regardless of their social, cultural or ethnic identity. Unfortunately the hope is false. Racism is still very real in Canadian society today. The facts speak for themselves.
Visible minorities settling in Canada in 2007 can expect to be much worse off than if they had arrived in the 1970s, despite meeting stringent selection criteria and being more skilled and educated than ever before.
A study of Statistics Canada's latest ethnic diversity survey published in January 2007 by the Institute for Research on Public Policy revealed that newly arrived visible minority immigrants earned 23.2% less than their white counterparts. They made only about 65% of the earnings of native born Canadians. Even more disturbing was the fact that the poverty rate for visible minority immigrants was 26.6%, that is almost double the poverty rate for other Canadians. As a result, 40% of all new visible minority Canadian children now live in poverty. The IRPP report also revealed that over one-third of visible minorities reported experiences of discrimination.
The net result is that new Canadians, and especially the first generation of Canadians to be born here are feeling increasingly alienated and unhappy with their place in Canadian society.
This is bad news for all Canadians. It is bad news because alienation, poverty, ongoing hardship and dissatisfaction for any person or community are the root causes of gangs, violence and crime.
It is bad news because racism leads to growing inefficiencies in the market. The best people should fill the best jobs, regardless of their social, cultural or ethnic origin.
It is bad news because the best and the brightest of potential immigrants will no longer regard Canada as the blessed place of genuine opportunity and advancement.
It is bad news because unaddressed racism in our own country makes Canada's tough talk on matters of international principle and human rights seem hypocritical in the eyes of the international community. If a government truly wants to be tough on crime, if a government truly wants to encourage growth and promote the economic well-being of all Canadians, if a government truly wants to attract the best and the brightest the world has to offer, and if a government truly wants to earn the respect of the international community, it must work hard to eliminate racism within its own borders.
I see nothing in the Conservative budget which makes the battle against racism a priority or even a general concern. This, as I said, is bad news because racism harms all Canadians socially, culturally and economically.
The Conservatives I expect will attempt to trumpet their nominal efforts to promote the economic integration for new Canadians. However, this only demonstrates how little they understand the true nature of the problem. Economic integration alone will never eliminate racism and true economic integration is impossible so long as racism remains prevalent.
It does not matter how rich people may be or how prestigious their degree may be, in the eyes of a bigot they will always be treated as second class citizens. Bigotry, racism and social discrimination has to cross all levels of society and will only be conquered by the combined efforts of all Canadians and all levels of government, but especially the federal government. The federal government has a special duty to fund initiatives which will promote inter-cultural understanding, increase participation in community and civic life and combat racism.
One such initiative is Canada's much acclaimed official multiculturalism policy. Introduced in 1971 by Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Canada's official multiculturalism policy is highly regarded throughout Canada and the world. The policy, which operates within a bilingual framework, requires the government to assist all cultural groups to develop and contribute to Canadian society, to overcome barriers to full participation, and to promote cultural interchange among all Canadians in the interests of national unity.
Today, the Department of Canadian Heritage administers a number of multicultural programs which are meant to meet the obligations of the policy, including Canada's action plan against racism.
I do not really understand but both the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity), one time members of the Reform Party, have both actively and publicly campaigned for the abolition of Canada's official multicultural policy and for the elimination of supporting funds.
Furthermore, the present Prime Minister publicly reaffirmed his long time goal of eliminating all federal funding in support of Canada's multiculturalism policy, although the numbers in Monday's budget on this issue are murky and deceptive, and this seems intentional. When we dig at it a little, it becomes apparent that the Prime Minister is one step closer to achieving his aim, and this disturbs me.
My claim is that straightforward racism remains prevalent in Canadian society today and if the government is truly intent on improving the well-being of all Canadians, it must work very hard to eliminate racism in the here and now. I see nothing in the budget which makes elimination of racism a priority.
Instead of writing cheques to aggrieved citizens tomorrow, I say let us push for a society without racism and without further cause for apology today. Nothing in the budget moves us substantially closer to this goal and should be a great disappointment to all Canadians. This is one reason again to vote against the budget.
