Madam Speaker, it is interesting to hear the debate on the budget and whether or not it should be delayed. I believe that although the budget is not really what I would have liked to have seen, the government had better get on with it and start instituting some cost cutting measures. If the government were to be prudent, it would come up with another budget in the fall to continue the process and start working toward a balanced budget.
I come from a province that is often criticized for living in a different world. It is the province of British Columbia. It is quite true, we do live in a part of the country that is quite different from the rest of Canada. The Rocky Mountains separate us from the rest of Canada. Because of our separation from the rest of Canada, our trade has been north-south. Our communication has been with our neighbours to the south.
My riding is on the Canadian-American border. We are not afraid of Americans. We are not afraid of trading with them or of being friends with them. We have established in our province a relationship with the states of Washington, Oregon and California that has developed its own economy. It is very distressful for me to see, because of the strength of the flow of goods and commerce north and south, that some Canadian businesses in my riding and in neighbouring ridings have chosen to move their businesses south of the border. They have not only chosen to move their businesses south of the border, but they have taken jobs south of the border. The reason they gave me is it is because of the cost of doing business in Canada. A lot of the cost of doing business in Canada is made up of high taxes and regulations that governments impose on the business community. It troubles me that these businesses are taking their money and their jobs and moving south.
It gives me some encouragement when I hear of groups such as Cascadia, which is an economic union between some of the northwestern United States and some of the western provinces of this country. I believe it is a union that includes Alaska, Washington, Oregon and northern California, with Alberta and British Columbia. It is an economic union that has some powerful economists and business people who are looking at the potential of a more secure economic union between western provinces and the western United States. That gives me some faith that there are other ways of addressing some of the problems that are created by the government.
I would hate to think that this economic union, which seems to be blossoming, might ever become a political union. It is important that I represent my constituency and my country in saying that this government has a mandate from the people of this country to try to reduce the cost of government so that businesses, not only in my constituency but in all constituencies across the country, will stay in Canada, will keep the jobs in Canada and will keep the money in Canada.
It is my concern that this government take seriously the task it has at hand, to make sure it is up front with Canadians as to what reducing government spending will cost. The government must be honest, it must be forthright, and it must look to the future of this country, not just to what is happening today.
It is very important for the government to get on with the business at hand, not to delay implementing the budget, but to get on with implementing it today. It is just as important for the government to look at coming back with another budget, a mini-budget if you will, that will carry it forward until the next budget year.
I would like to think this is only a first step, albeit a small step, in a process of the government balancing a budget. Canadians expect that. The Reform Party, in listening to what constituents are telling us, has come up with a vision which seems to be lacking from the government. It is a vision that looks at balancing the budget in the near future, not in 10 years when it is too late.
It is very important that we balance the budget as soon as possible. Only then can the government start eliminating an interest payment, or at least reducing an interest payment, and start eliminating the debt that has accumulated to over $550 billion. Our children and grandchildren can expect nothing less from all of us but to look at that very real problem, the problem that in three years time, if the government continues with its plan, we will be paying $50 billion in interest payments.
At least the Reform Party has acknowledged the problem, has identified the solution to the problem is short term pain for long term gain. In its taxpayers budget, the Reform Party has been up front, honest and has shown the Canadian public what is necessary for the country to get its financial house in order. The Reform Party has shown vision when it has talked about other ways for people to look after their own interests, to look after their own economic needs.
We have been visionary in looking at what is wrong with the system as it stands today and where we can go with it. When we talk to Canadians about the potential of an RPSP, a personal plan where they invest in their own future to look after their own needs, it is something Canadians can understand and they look for.
I do not know how many constituents I have talked to have contributed to the unemployment insurance plan and find that after 30 years of working it is not there for them when they need it. I do not know how many Canadians I have talked to in my constituency have contributed money to the civil servant pension plan or the RCMP pension plan or the defence pension plan, the armed forces pension plan. They think that money is sitting there in a pension plan, that it is protected. In reality that money is in the big black hole and is part of our national debt.
There is no security in there for any of these people who are looking at the Canadian pension plan or the individual pension plan. That concerns them. They look at this visionary RPSP where they are contributing to a plan that is there for them when they need it. They decide how much they will take out to assist them when there is unemployment or any other situation. They look at that as a new way, an interesting way, an interesting concept and something they can really get into.
I look forward to the days and months to come of expanding on that idea and sharing with Canadians how that can work for them. Canadians are looking to their government to have that kind of vision, for their government to be able to look for new ideas, not always falling back on the old way of doing things.
The old way of doing things which the Liberals brought in many years ago, 30-odd years ago, in deficit budgeting followed by the Mulroney Conservatives, has put us in this position. It is incumbent on the government to start taking the lead from the Reform Party with a newer vision and to start looking for some real answers instead of doing things the stale old way that only gets us deeper and deeper into debt.