Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by focusing on what we are talking about today. Maybe we could begin by agreeing on the things that we agree with.
We agree that all Canadians living in the best country in the world would expect from their government good fiscal management, so that all of our resources, all of the people with all of their energy, with all of their integrity, would be able to manage their affairs. Those affairs that are managed for them by the government would be done in such a way that the benefits are sustainable.
In my short life I have had a number of occasions where we have been beneficiaries of living in this country. The first one is the privilege of being able to come here.
I am a first generation Canadian but I remember distinctly my grandparents. Long before they passed away, they use to speak of the privilege of being in Canada. They did not want handouts. My grandparents were rugged, self-sufficient individualists. When they immigrated to this country they declined government benefits. They said they will live poorly but they will make it. They did.
I am happy to be in a family that has a rich record of helping other people. It is not true that you can only help people by having the government pluck the pockets of the taxpayers, spin it around in the whirlpool in Ottawa, use up a whole bunch of it for administrative purposes, have politicians and bureaucrats decide of the money that is left who is entitled to it. That is a false assumption, if you stop to think about it.
They have not created any money. They have not created any wealth. All they have done is taken the wealth away from the people, thereby reducing their ability to help those around them in need.
I know of what I speak. I am old enough to remember before all of these programs were in place. I remember as a youngster one of our neighbours was very sadly, suddenly and tragically killed in a farm accident. There was no government program at that time to help the widow harvest her crop.
I remember my dad organizing the neighbours. I was probably only five or six. I still remember that our neighbours went and that lady had her crop harvested first. When that was done, each one of the neighbours went back and did their own. That is the essence of charity. That is the essence of looking after people.
There was a young couple my wife and I were familiar with who did not have regular jobs. They had financial difficulties. They obviously needed a lot more help than just money thrown at them. I am very happy to say that one of the best experiences of my life was I, one of the leaders in the group, got a number of mutual friends together. This man who was in financial trouble, was living in subsidized housing and the rent was high. He said he could get into a housing program if only he could get a down payment. There was a house builder who had really good starter homes, but he did not have the down payment. His payments if he got into it would be less than his rent.
The most fun I ever had was when this small group of us could get together. Some of us made a donation to this. Some of us gave interest free loans. We went to this couple and we said we have arranged for the $6,000 they need as a down payment, let us go and buy the house. That was fun. The couple picked up on that and said that they now had an obligation to pay it back. They became more accountable. It did not take them long to pay back the money some of us had given them as interest free loans.
That really was a good experience. However, that was before the government was taxing us to death. Now we are getting more and more government intervention which prevents us from looking after ourselves.
This plan the Reform Party is promoting today simply says: We reject the premise that the government can look after our long term savings, our long term benefits or our temporary need for assistance when we are out of a job. We reject the premise that the government can do it better than we can ourselves or with the help of someone close to us. It is too far away and too inefficient.