Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak in the debate on the budget presented by the Minister of Finance. It contains measures to satisfy the main concerns that I brought forward on behalf of my constituents.
I would like to take a moment to go through some of the concerns of the constituents of Souris-Moose Mountain. Interest rates affect everything we do. Even a 1 per cent increase can mean a great deal to homeowners, farmers, those who wish to purchase machinery and to the mining companies if they are looking to expand their staffs or their businesses. Interest rates have come down over 3 percentage points since 1995.
The act of keeping our fiscal house in order and doing it in a rational and balanced way is paying off. A lower deficit means lower interest rates, growing confidence in new investments leading to more jobs and growth. That means jobs for young people as
well. For us in Souris-Moose Mountain it offers an opportunity for hope.
This budget offers a framework for that opportunity. We are encouraging education for young people, increasing tax benefits for students to allow them to continue, using summer employment as a mechanism.
Jobs will also continue to come from increased trade. That will continue to be a priority of this government.
One other thing that businesses in my area are concerned about is taxes. I am pleased to say we have set up a special technical committee to review the tax system to make it simpler and more effective. One more thing businesses are pleased with, and several phoned me last night, is we will make sure that banks do not enter into the insurance and the car leasing businesses. I am happy to announce that we have stayed the course and we recognize their concerns.
My constituents told me: "Do not raise taxes". I can tell them there are no tax increases in this budget. There have been no personal tax rate increases in any of the three budgets since we were elected as the government.
We continue to meet our deficit targets and to restore faith in our fiscal management through getting government right: reducing overlap, reducing waste and setting priorities that Canadians want.
Another thing that is extremely important to my constituents is security for families now and in the future. That is why all of these actions in the budget are very positive for stability and sustainability. We want our programs to still be there for our children.
In this budget we are acting now to ensure that social programs are affordable and will be there for Canadians in the future. We will restore growth to transfers to provinces and we will secure stable and growing funding for health, post-secondary education and social assistance.
Let us examine for a moment the Saskatchewan situation. The CHST transfer to Saskatchewan will increase $50 million over the next five years. From the years 1998 to 2003 we will maintain that base level. As well, Saskatchewan will of course continue to benefit from equalization.
Following consultations with the provinces, this budget put the CHST on a secure footing. There will be no further cuts to the CHST. It sets out new five year funding arrangements in which transfers are maintained and then grow.
Also important to Saskatchewan is the federal equalization payments because they will grow also. There are arrangements to safeguard medicare, which is very important in Saskatchewan, and our social programs, and restores stability and predictability for provincial governments.
This is the first time since the mid-1980s that the federal government has taken action to increase growth in these transfers. Our fiscal discipline is paying off. Getting our house in order and setting priorities has allowed us to now budget in growth in spending in the areas that count.
Speaking of these changes, many constituents have been asking since the time I was elected to do something about the taxation of child support payments. It is now done. As of May 1, 1997 child support will be paid but will not be included in the income of recipients for tax purposes, nor will it be tax deductible for the payer. This is only part of the child support package which puts the emphasis where it belongs, on the welfare of the child.
Many seniors have asked us to address their concerns with security for their grandchildren and security for themselves. I am pleased to see a new tax free benefit for seniors that will replace the old OAS and GIS benefits and will secure and ensure the long term stability and sustainability for seniors' pensions.
These seniors benefits will help those who need it most while streamlining the program. It will make the system fairer. It will guarantee that all current seniors, in fact all those who are over 60 years of age now, will receive no less than the current pension benefits. Most people will receive the same or more money under this system.
We in Souris-Moose Mountain in the rural agricultural area of southeast Saskatchewan are heavily dependent on agriculture. These actions have a large impact upon us. As well, we endure many restrictions due to our rural nature. We must overcome distance and resource barriers to be able to contribute to the economy and support ourselves adequately.
This budget builds on actions in the last two years that laid the foundation for changes in the west. Spending reductions, elimination of waste and overlap made room for spending in research, adaptation initiatives and trade. We need to see a continued focus in these areas laying the infrastructure or framework for a new revitalized agricultural sector.
Subsidies have been eliminated and change is upon us. We need adjustment assistance for this major change. And so it has been delivered. This budget will see the time frame accelerated for distributing $300 million in the western grain transportation adjustment fund and $72.6 million under the feed freight assistance adjustment fund.
Just this morning I spoke to the president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, Sinc Harrison. He said how pleased he was that the government is moving quickly to put money into the hands of rural governments in a faster and fairer manner.
Adaptation support is needed. And so our government delivers again. Direct producer delivery mechanisms for federal funding will set up adaptations and rural development funds and other adjustment initiatives.
We continue to consult with producers and other stakeholders toward a more efficient grain handling and transportation system. We will be selling 13,000 hopper cars. We will continue to discuss with producers the most efficient way of doing this.
This is the kind of budget my constituents have asked for. It is fairer across the board. It deals with all regions of Canada. It secures a future for us both fiscally and socially.
As I travelled throughout my riding, constituents raised concerns. They did not want a fuel tax because we travel such a large area. There was no fuel tax. Others wanted streamlining. The minister has streamlined to make the Government of Canada run more efficiently.
I have had the opportunity to talk about youth employment programs. I talked to the mayor and some councillors in Broadview. They were really impressed with our youth employment program. I am glad to see we are going to double the youth employment program this summer to meet the needs of those students who want to go on to post-secondary education.
In summary, let me say I am happy to be one of Team Canada's players. In a country as diverse as ours, it is a real privilege for each of us to be able to be part of a team that sets objectives and goals and meets them. We do not just talk about them; we meet them. We have set the challenges for the years to come. I know through our Minister of Finance and all who are involved we will meet those challenges.
