Mr. Speaker, this is my first opportunity to address Canada's 35th Parliament. It is a special day for me and the constituency I represent. I would like to take a moment to thank the people of Niagara Falls who two years ago elected me as their federal representative.
It is with great pleasure and eagerness that I take part in today's debate, a debate which focuses on pre-budget consultations that the finance committee, of which I am a member, held across Canada.
The consultations began in Ottawa on September 19. Since that time the committee has listened to testimony from Canadians from
coast to coast. The committee chose to use round table discussions to allow as many groups and individuals as possible to participate.
On the agenda, among other specific subjects, were the charitable sector, agriculture, monetary policy, education, health, the hospitality industries and tax expenditures.
The committee heard from labour unions, business and health organizations, charitable and community groups and also from many individual Canadians.
This year I was part of the group which heard from people in eastern Canada. The people who appeared before the committee offered sincere, diverse and far-reaching advice. One thing struck me: the eastern Canadians who made presentations to the finance committee expressed the same concerns, aspirations and dreams as the people in my beautiful constituency of Niagara Falls-Niagara-on-the-Lake. Their hopes and dreams are for a better future; a future in which unemployment will decrease, the economy will turn around and their children, when they graduate from high school, college and university, will find gainful employment. There is widespread agreement among Canadians to work together to achieve a better tomorrow.
Spending has to be cut, but at what price? We do not want to hurt those who can least afford it, as we see happening in Ontario. Canadians are ready to make sacrifices in order to have a better future.
By the end of the third year of the Liberal government's mandate the Minister of Finance will have fulfilled the party's election pledge. The finance minister will have shaved $18 billion off the deficit we inherited in 1993-94. We will have been successful in cutting the deficit almost in half, from 5.9 per cent to 3 per cent of the GDP.
We know that mindless cuts without concern for the consequences or the need for adaptation may result in short term savings, but they can also result in long term costs.
The third party presented to Canadians a slash and burn approach in its shadow budget which considered the elimination of the deficit in one year. At what cost? Canadians know that the Liberal government is proposing a lean but not mean approach. The government is committed to ensuring that the most vulnerable in our society will be protected. The fundamental problem remains a debt that is growing faster than the economy. Reducing the deficit remains paramount for job creation and growth.
There can be no more effective job creation program than getting interest rates down. In turn, there is no more effective way to get interest rates down than to decrease the deficit. A stronger economy contributes to the reduction of the deficit and the debt burden. The benefit is mutual and it will continue to grow with time.
Our strategy has been to apply a steady, significant, but orderly reduction of our deficit. We have seen the results. Today we have learned that the inflation rate is steadily declining. That is good news for all Canadians. However, we must remember to be careful. We must remember that transfer payments to provinces and to seniors amount to approximately 20 per cent of program spending. The most important thing remains the changes we have put in place to reduce the deficit. Those changes have been structural and have resulted in a lasting improvement in the way government does business.
In the 1995 budget we made a commitment to reduce the size of the unemployment insurance program by 10 per cent. We have done that. Once the reform of the unemployment insurance program is fully implemented, the cost of benefits will be reduced by approximately $2 billion a year. More important, $800 million will be reinvested in employment benefits to help Canadians get back to work.
When the system is fully implemented the reform will create approximately 100,000 to 150,000 jobs per year. In high employment areas, such as the riding which I represent, the new system will be phased in to ensure that individuals and communities have the time to adjust. These reforms are about fairness. They are about helping people get back to work.
We recognize, with understandable satisfaction, that 500,000 full time jobs have been created since the election, but we know that much remains to be done. Government alone cannot create jobs. We can, however, generate and foster the right environment in which the private sector can grow and create desperately needed jobs.
In last year's budget we stated clearly that one of the main objectives was to ensure the affordability of a public pension system. We know that over the next 20 years Canada will undergo big demographic changes. If we want to maintain our pension system well into the next century we need to start planning now for future changes.
The government has started discussing with the provinces how best to secure the future of the Canada pension plan. We have to ensure this key part of our social fabric be sustained well into the future.
In the 1995 budget the government reduced subsidies to business by 60 per cent, or $2.3 billion. Most of the remaining assistance is in agriculture where it takes the form of contributions to insurance schemes.
The government will continue to examine spending on subsidies so as to ensure that it is limited and, most important, justified.
I would like to talk about a subject that is on the mind of every Canadian, our tax burden. We all agree taxes are too high. However, our present economic situation does not permit us to reduce taxes.
We must realize that difference in tax burdens with other G-7 countries reflect differences in the composition of tax revenues. Some countries rely more heavily on revenue such as payroll taxes than Canada does.
Higher taxes in Canada have always reflected a higher level of public services. We may say without hesitation we have the best social programs in the world. These programs have without doubt contributed greatly to the fairness and quality of life enjoyed by all Canadians.
For this reason we must ensure everyone is paying his or her fair share of taxes. Again, the Liberal government has taken steps to ensure this is the case, first by enhancing enforcement efforts in the underground economy through increased audits and reporting requirements; and by eliminating tax advantages that do not meet the standards of fairness expected by all Canadians.
As Canada moves forward we have the duty to help Canadians better understand the value they receive for their dollars and how that value contributes to defining Canada as one of the best countries in the world.
We have to prove to Canadians their government is becoming more efficient. Canadians will expect us to balance the budget as well as lay out our vision for addressing the national debt. They want us to be frugal. They want us to end costly duplications in our programs.
I believe, as does my government, that Canadians want us to act, to show leadership and courage, to do what is needed while still maintaining the Liberal philosophy.
We must be successful. We must meet the expectations of Canadians. Only in this way will we achieve the stability and confidence level that Canada must enjoy to sustain economic growth, to meet the challenges of the 21st century and create lasting jobs.
I believe this can be achieved and I will continue to work with the finance committee, the government and, most important, with the input and help of my constituents to reach these important objectives.