Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak to the resolution before us and certainly in recognition of the tabling of the estimates. As we examine the presentation today and the budget which was given to us on February 22, we have some very major concerns. They are concerns that reflect the attitudes of Canadians.
The first concern is that the debt of the country is going to be our downfall and we must recognize that. The second concern is that along with the debt is the annual debt or the deficit which continues to hang over our heads, not only as taxpayers but members of Parliament. We have to deal with it. It is very basic.
We cannot afford in the next three years to accumulate $100 billion more of debt.
The estimates of 1994-95 start that process. They place before us $39.7 billion as the deficit. That is the best the government could do in its budgeting process. It could not do any better and it is not good enough. We have to sit here as parliamentarians and face that.
The government tried to tell us it has a plan to cut in the future. It is going to use studies to bring about the cuts. From my experience any time a group of legislators and private citizens work together, any recommendations that come back to the assembly usually demand more money.
I do not think any terms of reference went to those committees, particularly terms of reference with regard to social programs. The Minister of Human Resources Development said he would like to see the cost of social programs reduced but that those programs be targeted. I did not hear that in the terms of reference. Those should have been the initial terms of reference for those kinds of programs. That was not there.
The government is continuing a pattern of spending more. All of the deficit reduction in this budget, the amount of money applied to the deficit, comes from revenue growth. None of it comes from substantial, deliberate, priorized reductions of spending across government.
Nothing in these estimates presented to us today really deals with the fat of government, the overlap of government, the inefficiency of government, the bloating of government that occurred between 1975 and 1982. There is nothing in these estimates that represents significant changes from the trends of that period of time. The government is continuing the way it is.
I would like to say something with regard to the reductions. First, the government claims that it has made some major reductions and will make major reductions in expenditures over the next three years. The projections are $11 billion.
In the estimates before us the reduction is $3.7 billion. If one examines the budget book that was presented to us on February 22, 25 per cent of the reductions came from Tory policies, not from Liberal initiatives. That is the first item. Therefore how can the government take much credit for the reductions in the estimate expenditures?
Second, let us talk about the estimates for 1994-95. The reductions are $3.7 billion which is not much in a major budget of some $163 billion. New initiatives is $2.2 billion which leaves us $1.5 billion to apply to the deficit. That still leaves us with $39.7 billion. That is not much. Why did the government not look at the reductions and say it should apply all of the $3.7 billion to the deficit and do something with a little more significance?
Many of the funds were reallocated internally without consulting Parliament. We as parliamentarians should be able to ask the questions. For example, when certain programs are being cut, what is being cut out? After a program has been reallocated we should be able to ask the cost of the new priority, is it necessary, where will the money come from and can we do it for less. We really did not get a chance to do all of that in the process. We will possibly have that opportunity in the estimates.
I have a last point to the government in the time I have left. I hope that the government will really make a serious commitment, in the words spoken by the Minister of Finance yesterday, so committees will be able to review these matters, make recommendations and that the government will listen to those recommendations and implement them. I hope during this 35th Parliament that will be a major change. If government is that open and able to allow that, we will have a tremendous Parliament and one that is really democratic.
I recommend to the government not to become political and terminate that process through which a committee recommends decisions that are a little difficult to initiate. Committee reports and recommendations are number one to an effective process of dealing with the estimates.