Madam Speaker, I am pleased to join in the debate.
During one of the question and comment periods this morning I mentioned that like many members on all sides of the House I have had an opportunity to host public forums on issues such as the debt and the deficit. We got input from people across our constituencies on what their approach would be. That is part of our responsibility. That is a part of our ongoing job.
Many people said to me that there had to be cuts on the expenditure side, that the government had to do better, that we had to eliminate waste wherever we find it or wherever possible, and that we had to avoid duplication in efforts whether with departments internationally or our provincial counterparts in their respective departments.
The finance committee looked at those matters during its review. The minister and his department have taken them into consideration during the process of preparing for the budget. I say to my colleagues across the way that many Canadians have told us at these meetings that they want government to get it right. That is exactly what we are attempting to do.
People lost faith in our predecessors. Goal after goal was set. Was one ever met? I do not recall one that stands out in my mind as being met.
The government set goals like one might in business. Any good business person knows that challenges and goals must be set for both the business and the staff. Goals are set that offer challenge; the goals are achievable albeit difficult. That is exactly what we have done as a government. We have set some difficult goals.
I have to admit in many cases I have scratched my head and asked how we are going to meet this, that it is going to be very difficult. During the process both the finance minister and quite obviously the Prime Minister have asked all departments, all portfolios and all ministers to share in this challenge before us. I am sure in many cases specific sums were expected to be cut from the respective departments.
As everyone in this House knows, program review has been taking place. That program review asked every department and every portfolio to look at every line of every expenditure to ensure that they were going to be able to justify it to you and me. Ultimately that is where our responsibility lies. It lies not in the
day to day operation but in the policy, the planning and the review of the results. That is exactly what the Minister of Finance will do when he brings down his budget.
As we mentioned earlier, this government did set a goal. We took over in the 1993 fiscal year a deficit of some $42 billion which had once again gone even further than the previous administration had projected. We set a goal to bring that deficit down this current fiscal year to $39.7 billion, next year to $32.7 billion, and the third year to $25 billion, thus meeting our commitment of 3 per cent of gross domestic product.
Members would know that in the last couple of weeks the Minister of Finance has stated publicly that not only will we meet that goal this current fiscal year but we will exceed it. That is great news for us. It is fantastic. That is what we should be working toward and challenging ourselves toward. I know the Minister of Finance is doing that and is impressing on the staff of the department to ensure we do all possible to not only meet the current year and subsequent year goals but to surpass them if we possibly can.
During this whole process of reaching our goals we have another goal. That goal is for growth and job creation in this country. Of all the G-7 nations in the world, the economic leaders of the world, in the 1994 calendar year this country was number one. We were number one in the world in economic increase and development.
That in itself is part of our challenge, the balancing part, to be very gentle. The actions we take must be balanced to achieve our goals in reducing our deficit, taking hold of our debt, bringing home those offshore portions wherever possible but at the same time doing it in a balanced fashion that will keep another commitment of this government for economic development: jobs and growth. We call it our growth and jobs agenda.
Members will notice that every piece of material which has been brought forward by this government has had that as the number one priority: jobs and growth. Growth economically for our businesses. Jobs for our young people completing community college and post-secondary education in universities. It is so they will have the opportunity we and our parents had to have a job, to have that self-discipline, to have respect for themselves, to know that following their education there is an opportunity in this country to go to work and to provide for themselves and their subsequent families.
As a member of this government I am indeed proud of the approach it and our finance minister have taken fiscally. There is no question we want to see the major part of deficit reduction done on the expense side. There is no question and the minister has stated that time and time again.
As I mentioned before, a number of those loophole areas are going to have to be filled. I pressured the minister, others did as well. That will be seen by some people as tax increases. I see it as being a fair and equitable tax system for all Canadians.