Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on this bill. I note that recent disclosures indicate that the Liberals plan to spend $24 million of taxpayers' money to establish a Canadian race relations foundation in Toronto.
Not only will this entail an immediate cost to the Canadian taxpayers, but it will entail an ongoing cost. This is just the latest example of the absurdity of government funded multiculturalism.
Hospital beds are being closed in this country. Social policy review is under way right now. All kinds of government services are being eliminated or reduced to the taxpayers. In the same breath we have this government telling us that it is going to spend $24 million to establish the Canadian race relations foundation in Toronto.
Does the Liberal government really believe that Canadians agree with the expenditure of this kind of money for this purpose? Does the Canadian government really believe that the taxpayers of this country would ever agree to support such an expenditure? If the taxpayers could check off on their income tax returns whether or not they agree to having a portion of their contributions going toward this expenditure, how many Canadians would actually tick off the box and say: "Yes, send my money to pay for this new $24 million race relations foundation in Toronto".
This is another example of how badly out of step this government is with the Canadian people and how badly it has its priorities organized.
We are in a deep fiscal crisis in this country. The Canadian taxpayers know that and the government knows that. We see evidence of that every day. In the face of that, because we have this philosophical conviction on the part of the Liberal government that these things must be funded, they are being funded to the exclusion of other programs.
In concluding my short remarks, I must say that this government once again demonstrates and makes it very clear to all members of this House and to the Canadian people that this entire rationale for the heritage ministry is undermined by the very actions that this government is engaged in even as we speak.