Madam Speaker, I must say that yesterday, I listened to the finance minister's speech with interest. I was expecting answers to the many questions put to me in recent months and weeks by the people of Saint-Léonard.
Indeed, all the people I met with and spoke to on the phone gave me much the same advice: "Make up your mind, do something, it is time to take action". They told me: "Put your fiscal house in order, we are on the road to ruin". They said: "Downsize the government, it is too expensive". And above all, they begged me not to raise taxes. They also said not to touch seniors. They said they wanted to continue to invest in their RRSPs because they needed them. They told me to cut subsidies to businesses, to support small and medium size businesses and to tax big corporations and banks.
The electorate in Saint-Léonard is realistic. People there are reasonable and pragmatic. They know that our future depends on the choices we are making now, in the budget the Minister of Finance tabled yesterday afternoon. They know that we must take the bull by the horns and learn to live according to our means. But above all, they know that without a drastic about-face this year, our standard of living and our future chances at prosperity are in danger.
Right at the beginning of his speech, the minister said: "Today, we have made our choice. Today, we take action". Yes, indeed. Our government chose to take the most drastic budgetary measures ever seen in 50 years to control this monster that our deficit has become. The federal government will tighten its belt and cut expenditures-all expenditures at all levels.
However, we will do so in the greatest respect of the values that Canadians hold so dear. We will promote job creation and economic recovery. We will protect the most vulnerable in our society. We will cut down on our life-style. And we will do all this without raising taxes, without cutting the old age pension and without taxing retirement savings plans.
Today, in Saint-Léonard as in everywhere else across the country, Canadians applaud the Minister of Finance. He had the guts to do what others had promised to do for almost ten years. For too long, we have only had smoke screens. Canadians want results, solid and measurable results, and we already have some.
Last year, we promised in our first budget to reduce the deficit to under $40 billion. Once all calculations are done, our bottom line should show that our basic deficit is some $4.4 billion less than expected. Now those are tangible results. This is something new and exciting. For ten years, there were promises to reduce the deficit, but it never happened. And now we managed to make it happen, and we did even better than we expected.
It has been a long time since anyone saw a government overestimate its deficit. The results have been very encouraging as well, here in the House of Commons. As you know, Madam Speaker, a year ago the Board of Internal Economy adopted a plan to restructure the expenditures of the House of Commons. This plan, referred to by some-rather ironically, I suppose-as
the Gagliano plan, was aimed at cutting our expenditures by $5 million annually.
The big challenge was to make these cuts while at the same time providing members and their staff with the tools they need to fulfil the mandate they were given by their electorate. However, times are changing, technology has become more sophisticated and, as a result, members as well as the general public must adapt their tools to changing needs.
For instance, the advent of fax machines and electronic transmission has completely changed our requirement for messengers on Parliament Hill. We sat down and methodically analysed our requirements. We suggested new approaches and implemented our recommendations carefully and diligently.
We helped our employees by proposing generous terms for voluntary departure, which a large number accepted. We redefined tasks and ask the rest of the staff to do their share, each employee being asked to do a little more with a little less.
This morning, the President of the Treasury Board reported on the results of this plan. So far, the House of Commons has saved no less than $5,719,500, compared with last year's budget. We have not only achieved our objective, we have already exceeded it.
But there is more. This exercise continues, since yesterday, the Speaker announced a reduction of $1 million in the budget of the Food Services Branch of the House of Commons. Implemented over a period of three years, this measure will help reduce the operational expenditures of the House of Commons by nearly $7 million annually.
That is what I call results. Concrete results that clearly show we mean what we say when we want to put our house in order.
We are the first to tighten our belts, and we are not asking anyone to do anything we are not prepared to do ourselves.
The answer is simple, and everyone knows what it is. From one end of the country to the other, Canadians are staying within their budget by watching their spending every day. The time has come for all governments, including our own, to do the same.
The Minister of Finance has clearly stated our overall plan. For every dollar of additional revenue, the government will reduce its expenditures by $7. This is an extremely bold new direction, the most cost effective seen in this country in the past 50 years.
To ensure the long term health of public finances, we must review the role and structure of government, without fail. We must centre the activities of government on the priorities of Canadians. With this budget, we are reducing the size and structure of government to a level in keeping with our means.
As the Minister of Finance put it so well, and I quote: "Our view is straightforward. If government doesn't need to run something, it shouldn't. And, in the future, it won't".
The government is therefore going to privatize and commercialize its activities whenever possible and desirable. We will progressively divest ourselves of our interests in companies such as Cameco, a uranium company, CN, Petro-Canada, the Air Navigation System and the Canada Communication Group.
We will reduce our subsidies to business by 60 per cent-I repeat, 60 per cent-within three years. Assistance to industries which we shall maintain will be targeted to the main driving forces behind economic growth, namely expanding trade, science and technology and small business.
Almost every time I rise in this House, I remind my colleagues of the important role played by small business in our economy.
It is always with great pride that I point out that small business is the main source of new jobs in our country. Small business is ever-changing, full of vitality and creativity. It helps us recover more quickly from downturns in economic cycles and makes a major contribution to community development. It should therefore be a matter of priority to provide small business with concrete assistance to ensure its survival and growth. Better yet, we should eliminate obstacles to its success, because when it succeeds, we succeed.
Last year we announced our plan to review the $500,000 capital gains cumulative tax exemption for farmers and small business owners. We have undertaken this review and have concluded that this exemption should be left intact.
I would like to go into a few details in this regard. Yesterday evening, the Leader of the Opposition tried to plant the seeds of fear and confusion in Quebec by criticizing the government for wishing to review certain issues which we must face in coming years.
True, the government does want to review and discuss with the provinces how to preserve our old age pension system, modernize our unemployment insurance system and maintain assistance programs for the poor.
The Leader of the Opposition said earlier that when governments undertake a review, it is always with cutting in mind. I say to my hon. colleague, this is not so. We must be careful not to make such generalizations. We must not plant the seeds of fear and confusion without any good reason. Reviewing means analyzing, examining. Consulting means looking for solutions.
The $500,000 capital gains exemption for small businesses and farmers proves it.
Last year, we said that we would review the matter. After reviewing it, we said that we would keep it, that keeping it was important. Therefore, we must not scare people and have them believe that we are going to change everything and take pensions away from people just because the Minister of Finance announced yesterday that he will be reviewing the pension plan.
These organizations, like the Federal Office of Regional Development-Quebec, play important roles in economic growth and sustainable job creation. Nevertheless, we will not reach these goals by showering businesses with gifts. Everyone agrees on this point. Therefore, we are going to reduce business subsidies substantially. In the future, most assistance will take the form of refundable loans to businesses.
The repayment conditions attached to these loans will promote true expansion possibilities. They will continue to really help our small and medium size businesses, yet get the most for our taxpayers' money.
Lastly, we are determined to give our small and medium size businesses access to the financing they need to remain the primary source of job creation in Canada. I have often repeated my deep conviction that Canadian banks in particular have responsibilities in this area.
We have already taken the initiative of working with banks to correct their current shortcomings. From now until the fall, we will continue our efforts in this area in order to draw up points of reference for small business financing. We want to see concrete results in that sector as well. This process will be reviewed next year, and we have every reason to believe that this collaboration will produce valid results for our small businesses.
The budget tabled in this House yesterday by the Minister of Finance marks the beginning of a new era. It proposes a new way to manage the Canadian Confederation. It features a simpler, more efficient approach that recognizes provincial areas of jurisdiction. That is why we can say without any doubt that this budget reflects our progressive, dynamic, co-operative and pragmatic approach to federalism.
No one can accuse the Canadian government of promoting or proposing the status quo. The provinces will now enjoy greater flexibility and fewer constraints in managing their areas of jurisdiction. The Canada social transfer, which combines into a single consolidated block transfer the three separate payments the provinces used to receive from the federal government, will greatly facilitate operations. This new approach will reduce administrative obstacles for the provinces while giving them maximum flexibility in adjusting programs to users' needs. Provincial governments will no longer have to identify eligible expenditures. They will prepare their own budgets and make their own decisions.
This initiative will simplify bureaucracy at the federal and provincial levels. There will be less red tape, fewer regulations and more results. That is what Canadians from all parts of the country expect from their federal and provincial governments alike. I admit that our budget is a tough one. The cuts announced are without precedent.
But we no longer had any choice. If we want to maintain our standard of living and preserve our children's future, the government has to take firm measures and implement them with determination.
Nevertheless, all should recognize that the budget is also fair. We have made sure that everyone participates in the effort to correct the situation. The residents of Saint-Léonard understand that, as do all Canadians. Our budget is tough, but it preserves the essential. It respects the fundamental principle of fairness between individuals and between regions which guides Canadians. That principle forms the very foundation of our federation and makes Canada one of the best countries in the world. If you will permit me, Madam Speaker, I would like to say a few words to my English speaking voters.
The budget the Minister of Finance introduced last night is definitely a strong budget. The question we have to ask ourselves today is whether we had a choice. In the last few months international financial markets and our own financial institutions had sent the message that we had to put our financial house in order.
The Minister of Finance, who has the responsibility to find a balance between restoring confidence in the market and not being too harsh in cutting measures, was able to ensure that economic growth would continue. At the same time, the financial markets were looking for a commitment from the government that it was serious and meant business about putting its financial house in order.
The Minister of Finance did a very good job in presenting his very balanced budget. This morning we saw the financial markets responding, as did the media and the people. I have been a member of the House for over 10 years. It is the first time that after the presentation of a budget I have seen such positive announcements and comments in the media and elsewhere. We owe a message of congratulations to the Minister of Finance and the government for a job well done.