Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate the member for Brant for presenting some interesting ideas, particularly concerning some form of the guaranteed income. I think she will find that notion has wide support in this House. I hope that the Minister of Human Resources Development will look at the option as he reviews social policy as well.
My question for the hon. member concerns the government and the Liberal Party's promise of solving the problem of the deficit through more employment. It is an argument I totally accept.
Statistics Canada did a study as to the cause of the debt. I believe that study was done last summer. Statistics Canada said that of our accumulated debt, 50 per cent was due to interest payments, i.e. the high interest rate policies of the former Liberal government that the Conservative government continued. I believe 44 per cent was due to loss of income. The loss of income is due to the tax breaks of the former Liberal government that the Conservative government continued and only 6 per cent was due to increased government expenditures of which only 2 per cent was due to increased social spending. This is a study by Statistics Canada on the cause of the debt.
We have to increase our revenues. In other words we have to plug some of the tax loopholes. I encourage the government to continue to look at that but also we have to get people back to work.
The free trade agreement killed over 400,000 jobs. NAFTA is going to kill more jobs. Since coming into power the government has increased the tax on employment, discouraging employment by increasing the UI premiums. Second, it has ratified the NAFTA which is going to create more unemployment. How can the government in fairness state that creating more employment and therefore more revenues is its central concern when in fact the record so far indicates it has taken the opposite direction?