Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to speak to the motion, specifically the part of the motion that refers to the role of the government in the economy.
Since 1986 Reformers have been talking about the financial crisis in the country. We sent warnings to the Tories when they were in power and they did not listen to us. We in the Reform Party have been warning the government for months and months of the impending financial crisis in the country arising out of the mountain of debts and deficits.
We warned that investors feared the economic uncertainty in our country. We warned that spiralling debtloads would hamper the country's ability to create jobs. We warned that consumer confidence would not return unless the government got its financial house in order. These warnings have simply been cast aside by the Liberals in the last several months and they have branded Reformers as fearmongers.
They would say there was no crisis, the debt was under control or cuts simply would do more harm to the economy than good. Now the Minister of Finance says that debt stands in the way of the growth we seek and limits our ability to create jobs. He says that his ultimate goal is a balanced budget.
This new Liberal stand leaves Canadians sort of confused since only eight months ago the Minister of Finance tabled a budget rife with new expenditures and new taxes, a nefarious combination that encouraged an ever expanding underground economy, a nefarious combination that leaves investors nervously standing pat and consumers keeping their wallets in their pockets.
Now the government tells Canadians to forget that budget, forget the $34 billion it would add to the debt, forget the $100 billion it proposed to add to the debt in the next four years but trust it today, for in the last 32 weeks it has been mystically reborn and sees the evils of it spendthrift ways.
It is this confusion, this flip-flopping or lack of focus that leads Reformers to call for the government's clear vision of the role it will play in the economy. To date the vision of the government and its role in the economy have been shortsighted at best. It continues to intervene in the marketplace creating disincentive for investments, disincentives for Canadians to work and disincentives for Canadians to spend.
One way in which the government stunts the wealth creating potential of the economy is through its measures of taxation, and the Liberals know all about taxation. The capital gains tax exemption was removed in February's budget and this will discourage people's will to invest. We pay tax on interest in savings accounts and now there is talk about taxing RRSPs.