Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time today with the member for Brome-Missisquoi. I rise today to speak in the 1996 budget debate.
The Canadian dream that built Canada on principles of sharing, caring, fairness and compassion is alive in this budget. The course charted by the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister is the correct one for Canada, for us, for now and for the future. This budget sets the stage to lead Canada throughout the 21st century.
We as Canadians must remind ourselves of the greatness of the Canadian experiment and return our energies to the endeavours which reflect our collective values. The foundation on which we achieved success in the past and will continue to succeed in the future is our ability to understand, to compromise and to change. As a government and as a country we must rethink the role of government.
From this budget we will guarantee the future of our social programs, restore the trust in the old age security system by providing long term sustainability and guarantee the security and stability of federal support for health care, post-secondary education and welfare. We will also invest in the future by reallocating funds to make new investments, provide help for young people and support technology and international trade. These are the essential areas for job creation and future growth. We will take the necessary measures to redefine the role of government in the context of a modern federation economy.
My riding, the ethnically diverse riding of Essex-Windsor, consists of more than 70 different groups and reflects the shared values of Canadians. Pluralism and multiculturalism, the fact that we can be different and yet all be Canadians, these are the fundamental characteristics of my riding of Essex-Windsor and of Canada.
My constituents have participated actively in prebudget consultations for the past two years. I am pleased to say the Minister of Finance has listened once again. My constituents asked for no new taxes and there are none. As well, the warden for the county of Essex for 1995, Mr. Lyle Miller, expressed his concern over the replacement of the Canada assistance plan. This budget alleviates that concern.
The federal government's objectives of the Canada health and social transfer are to safeguard medicare and social programs, to return to growth in transfers, to guarantee the cash floor component and to restore stability and predictability by five year funding arrangements.
It was also raised by one of my constituents, Mr. Andre Marentette, a member of the group Canadians for Constitutional Money, that our foreign borrowing is too high. Not only is he correct but this budget will for the first time in years make us less dependent on foreign loans. How? As we reach our objectives of deficit reduction, we decrease our need for foreign borrowing.
Not only are my constituents concerned about our investment in the future, it is one of the very reasons I sought public office. I assured my constituents at my nomination that "a new Liberal government will invest in Canada's greatest asset, our people. And by investing in them, we invest in our future".
This budget does just that. It invests in our future to ensure not only our future but to restore the confidence of Canadians.
This government has allocated resources to new investments in three main areas: youth, technology and external trade. Action in these fields is not an increase in expenditure but is financed by budget savings through reallocations from lower priorities.
Government cannot solve Canada's problems by simply throwing massive sums of money at different areas. This is what has created our difficulties in the past. Instead we must create an environment that encourages economic growth and make sustainable new jobs possible.
We need low inflation, low interest rates and declining deficits to build a growth environment. These are all critical to the future of our nation, to the future of Canada.
To talk about the future of Canada, let me speak for a moment about youth. Most of us will know that the unemployment of youth, those under 25, is very high. It is in the neighbourhood of 16 per cent. This needs to be addressed and it was in this budget. We must help our young people to take the first step to get their first job. In that objective I applaud the government for asking possible businesses to reach out and do exactly that.
There is $315 million allocated for new employment opportunities. There is $700 million already provided through programs such as youth internship Canada, youth service Canada and summer job programs. In this budget we will double the government commitment to summer job programs from $60 million to $120 million. With the $60 million last year, we created 30,000 jobs. We hope to double that number.
The remaining funds will be used to improve job possibilities for young people in innovative sectors: information technology, environmental technology, tourism, culture, trade and international development. These investments will build on a new domestic Team Canada style partnership between businesses and government to create entry level jobs for youth. With these new funds, $315 million reallocated and $165 million in tax expenditures, the
budget brings total expenditures for youth specific programs over a three year period from $700 million to $1.2 billion.
As well let us talk about the learning package. There is an additional $165 million in tax assistance to students and their families over three years. There is a 25 per cent increase in educational tax credits and tuition fee limits. As well the ceiling on annual contributions to an education savings plan has been raised.
Canada must also invest in science and technology to increase productivity and competitiveness which fuel export growth and ensure job creation at home. Encouraging export growth is a priority for this Liberal government. One billion dollars in exports represents about 11,000 jobs for Canadians.
In 1995 the value of Canadian exports exceeded that of imports by $28 billion. Along with the budget this Liberal government unveiled a new science and technology strategy which will target promising sectors. Technology Partnerships Canada will support the development of advanced manufacturing and materials, aerospace, environmental technologies and biotechnology. Funding will increase from $150 million in 1996-97 to $250 million in 1998-99.
Access to the information highway will also be increased by the SchoolNet program. By 1998 all of Canada's educational institutions and libraries will be connected. As part of SchoolNet, 2,000 computer students will connect 50,000 small businesses to the Internet.
To further encourage trading growth, the Business Development Bank will receive $50 million in additional capital allowing the bank to lend up to $350 million more to growth, knowledge based and exporting businesses. The Export Development Corporation will receive $50 million in new equity for innovative export financing.
We have talked and talked about the red book but by today I think we can come to this House with a remarkable balance sheet showing real achievements, particularly on the fiscal front. The Prime Minister recently noted we have finally turned the corner on deficit reduction. This has been done without raising personal income taxes in any of our three budgets. Turning the corner allowed the government to move forward on other fronts. The government is reallocating funding to provide increased support for job creation in three vital and key areas: youth, technology and trade.
It will be remembered that we talked about a deficit of 3 per cent of the GDP. It is now a reality. Now we are looking forward to and talking about a deficit of 2 per cent for 1997-98.
With regard to social programs, the Liberal Party is the political party which provided Canada with a social system, a social safety net which is the envy of the rest of the world. Once again, I am proud to say in this House that the Liberal Party is the party which is able to meet the true challenges of this country. This government has met that challenge by rethinking the social safety net for the long term in order to provide security to those who will grow up in this country, to offer people in the 1990s a safety net meeting their expectations and to ensure that our country is ready for the next century.
This government is prepared to put people first.