Mr. Speaker, I do have my supporters; it is a great delight to hear their applause. It is probably because they basically know what topic I will deal with.
It is a pleasure to rise in support of the budget because it breaks new ground in a way that has generally been overlooked by the media and by some members of the House. I am speaking of the fact that the budget, for the first time, declares that the government is going to put some restrictions on the funding of special interest groups. It will be setting out some guidelines to bring order to what has been over the years a very bad situation.
For many years government funded advocacy groups have controlled the political agenda. The government, in calling to account special interest groups, will not only save a lot of money, it will also change the way in which politics are conducted.
The innovation that the government has introduced requires all cabinet ministers to take personal care in the funding of special interest groups. It has given Treasury Board very specific guidelines. The Minister of Finance did not mention them in the budget so I will tell the House what the guidelines are.
Basically when a minister is deciding whether a group should get government funding, the first question asked is how large the public benefit will be because of the activities of the group. If that group is going to do a great service and be of benefit to many people, then the guidelines dictate that it should get special attention for funding. However, if a group can raise the money itself then ministers are instructed to give it less attention for funding.
If a group has a very narrow focus, then the guidelines suggest that it should probably find its own funding. That is a very important point. Many advocacy groups, single agenda groups, have a very narrow focus. Many Canadians believe that these groups should raise their own money to further their own causes.