Mr. Speaker, a budget captures society's priorities. That is why the prebudget consultation process is so important. It is an opportunity for Canadians to share their perspectives with us. From those views and from our principles as a government we can find the path that will work best.
This consultation process has proven to be much better than the old ways of doing business. The road to budget day was once a darkened one. It was full of secrecy. Canadians suspected some special interest groups had ways to get their opinions into the process but that for most of us it was a closed system. Canadians
had no way to contribute to this essential part of our democratic process. Gladly that has changed for the better.
The budget deserves to be the subject of debate well before the late winter afternoon when the Minister of Finance tables it here. And so it is. The government has used a comprehensive prebudget consultation process. It is open, inclusive and fully in keeping with our commitment to govern with honesty and integrity.
Everybody recognizes we face a fiscal crunch. I hosted several town hall meetings and consultation meetings in my riding on the nation's finances. Hundreds of people came together to talk about economic and fiscal issues facing the nation. Together we discussed the steps the government has taken thus far and made recommendations for future change.
We looked at where the government was going with its fiscal agenda. We considered questions of jobs and growth. We discussed government spending. For all the diversity in the detailed comments there was a surprising degree of consensus on the big picture. People were quite supportive of the steps the government has taken to get our fiscal house in order.
A message that came through loud and clear was that people support budget cutting but not mindless budget cutting. The people who took part in my consultation process felt we all benefit from government programs and services. We all benefit from an activist government, a government present in communities. That is true whether we are rich or poor, young or old.
The people of York North want what most Canadians want, fairness, balance and a government that responds to people, one that can support initiatives that spring from communities.
Let us be clear. We live in a time of immense change in society, in the economy. Canadians are trying hard to adapt to that change but they want to know that if needed, the support of government is there to make it happen. This view is echoed throughout society. I have heard it continuously since I have been a member of Parliament. When I co-chaired the joint House of Commons-Senate task force on youth I heard young people asking for vehicles of opportunity to help them make the transition from school to work. We followed through on the very firm commitment we made in the red book by establishing Youth Service Canada and youth internship programs. Today I am pleased to say over 30,000 young people are benefiting from these programs.
We also kept our word that we would enhance summer employment programs for young people. As a result of the government's policy, the youth employment development services budget has actually been increased to $236 million, an increase of $43 million. When we consider we are living in fiscally challenging times, this speaks volumes to the fact that the government does not simply say young people are our future but actually acts by giving young people sound financial support and programs that not only get them working but make our country work.
As a member of Parliament I have had the opportunity to be a member of the human resources development committee. I travelled throughout the country listening to what Canadians had to say about our social security system. In that role I found Canadians wanted to modernize and restructure our social security system, a system which needs a complete overhaul since we are living in a time quite different from the time when the system was created.
Our goal was to meet three objectives: to help Canadians get jobs and keep jobs; to help the most vulnerable in society; and to make the system sustainable. In large measure this has been achieved. I point to the announcement by the Minister of Human Resources Development a few weeks ago in which he outlined a program of employment insurance which focuses on getting people back to work. The net impact of this program is the creation of approximately 100,000 to 150,000 new jobs for Canadians.
More important, it is not the old income support measures program of the past; it is a program which embodies two very important elements. One is income support, which will give people the security they need in their everyday lives as they face the challenges of unemployment. There is also an active element which speaks to the re-employment measures, the five tools under the $800 million human resources investment fund. The five tools are the targeted earning supplement, the wage subsidy, skills and loan grants, self-employment assistance, and job partnerships, which will be done with local governments and organizations. It is a way to empower local communities and individuals to make the type of decisions which better reflect the local reality.
I will talk a bit about the self-employment assistance program initiated a few years ago. It has been extremely effective. Since we formed the government in October 1993, 34,000 people have participated in the program. These formerly unemployed Canadians have created jobs for themselves and have created jobs for an equal number of Canadians. That means 68,000 jobs have been created through this very active program which the Government of Canada instituted.
This is the type of positive change Canadians have been calling for, empowering individuals to make the right decisions which better reflect their reality, their needs and their aspirations as responsible Canadians.
This is where we are turning the corner as a government. We are returning a great deal of faith to the people. We are returning faith and hope to the communities. We are telling people we have faith
in them and know they understand what it takes to make things happen as individuals and as communities.
We have taken other measures. We have modernized the delivery of services. We have increased the points of service for Canadians. We have moved from approximately 400 to 700 human resources development centres so that the needs of people at the community level, rural and urban Canada will be better met.
Returning to young people, we have increased funding for the Canada student loans. As institutions increased their tuitions, it is extremely important for the federal government to help our young people attend universities and colleges, to make sure they have an opportunity to acquire the required skills to compete in a very competitive global market.
That was an increase of $2.5 billion over five years, an increase of approximately 57 per cent in funding. Those are positive measures that speak to the needs of Canadians as they try to adapt to the change I spoke about earlier.
One of the most interesting aspects of being a member of Parliament, whether we are talking about the red book or federal government policies, is to make those things living documents in our communities. I will share with the House some of the initiatives through the partnership of local stakeholders at the community level I have been able to adapt to my community.
My community has been blessed with affluence, good schools, a good educational system. We are also blessed with a vibrant community that understands the new economy really speaks to technology, making sure people have the skills to adapt to the technological change that has occurred.
Therefore we initiated in partnership with local stakeholders colleges, local schools boards and community organizations the York North technology strategy which has been extremely successful in making sure our local businesses are now on the global web to attract business from abroad, to generate jobs locally and engage in the production of high value added products. At the same time through the investments we have made in human resources investment funds we can provide people with world class skills so they can compete in the global environment.
The people of York North are certainly behind the government to continue on the course it has charted so far.