Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to participate in today's debate. I have been listening very carefully to the comments of all members on both sides of this House.
As I looked over the motion that was presented by the fourth party I was struck with the word “condemns”. I believe that if they were being fair and reasonable they would compliment the government on the result of its policies and its fiscal plan.
It is important when we consider this motion to look at the record, to look at where we started, to look at where we are today.
I am not going to say the job is done. It is not. There is more to do. Unemployment is too high. My goal is to see that anyone who wants to work will have the opportunity to fully participate in our society. That is the goal. I think it is the goal of every member who sits on the government side of the House and frankly I think it is the goal of every person who comes here to this wonderful place. We want people to have opportunities to maximize and achieve their potential. We want them to have the dignity of work. We want them to have the skills so that they can prepare for the jobs being created.
To be fair and reasonable as we begin and continue this debate today, we have to look at where this government started from, where we are today and where we are going. Then we can consider this motion before the House today for what it really is.
Where did this government begin? In 1993 the deficit that was inherited was some $42 billion. Where are we today as just announced by the finance minister? The deficit stands at $8.9 billion with an expectation that the budget of the Government of Canada will be fully balanced with a deficit of zero by the next fiscal year.
That is an incredible and enormous achievement. The assessment is not by those of us who sit in this House. It is not just by the Liberals. That assessment is by the international investment community which looked at Canada a few short years ago and said this country is on the verge of bankruptcy, this country is not a good place to invest, this country needs solid, prudent fiscal and economic management. I suggest especially to the people in my wonderful riding of Thornhill that is exactly what Canadians have had under the Liberal government since 1993.
The United Nations has declared that Canada number one in the world as a place to live and work. More recently a study by KPMG determined that Canada, among all those countries surveyed, has a significant competitive advantage. Our cities rank among the best in the world not only as a place to live but as a place to work. The same study suggests that Canada is head and shoulders above our neighbours to the south as a place to invest.
There are certain things that give us that competitive advantage. Those things are relatively new and some have been around for a while. What are those things? We have a government dedicated to balancing the budget, to responsible and prudent fiscal management and which is dedicated to ensuring interest and inflation rates are low. These are the things we need to create a climate for job creation and investment. They go hand in hand.
When government attempts to create jobs directly it has to do so with tax dollars. This does not mean those jobs are not important. It means that government must tax in order to create jobs. It is far more effective to create a climate which encourages the private sector to create those jobs. Since 1993 we have seen over one million jobs created in this country. In this year alone 297,000 jobs have been created across the country. Is that enough? Of course it is not.
In 1993 unemployment was 11%. Today unemployment is 9%. Is that low enough? Of course not. There are two particular segments of our society that concern me. One is youth who have not had their first job or who are finding it difficult to get a job and to use their talents, skills and education. The other is the older workers who have been displaced by restructuring and technology and who need training and retraining to be productive and useful in our society.
The sound and prudent responsible fiscal management that this country has had since 1993 has resulted in interest and mortgage rates, which were so much higher in 1993, now fueling economic growth and job creation that will lead the G-7 nations. Canada will out perform all the G-7 nations. Is it just the members on this side of the House who are saying that? No. Independent forecasters are looking at the rate of growth of the Canadian economy. They are looking at the job creation numbers and they are the ones that are saying that the fiscal plan, the sound economic management as proposed by the finance minister and the government is working. We are not there yet.
There are other factors which make our competitive advantage something to shout about. As a former provincial minister of health I can say Canadian medicare is a huge competitive advantage. They have tampered with medicare, killed medicare. I say to my friends in the Reform and Conservative parties, whose policies I believe would devastate medicare, that medicare is a significant competitive advantage. If medicare is tampered with it kills jobs.
To those who are sceptical about the government's commitments, I say that the government was very quick to respond to the National Forum on Health which said that the federal government should maintain the transfer payment commitments to the provinces at $12.5 billion. That is the commitment of the government. It will help the provinces to sustain and maintain medicare and ensure that the principles of the Canada Health Act are protected.
There are two reasons. First is our competitive advantage and the second are the values and the soul of this country. I do not think there is a Canadian who is not proud when told by people outside this country that we live in a place where money is not a factor in access to medicare.
Are there problems today? Yes, there are. I challenge everyone in the House to consider what is happening south of the border. Take a look at the 40 million people in the United States who have no access to health care, to the 100 million people in the United States who have inadequate coverage. Try to understand what would happen if the Reform or Conservative parties were successful in their Americanization of Canadian medicare. I shudder to think.
In 1993 jobs were being lost, people were feeling insecure, people had no hope. Today Canadians are confident. Jobs are being created, interest rates are at an all time low, the budget is on the verge of being balanced. Canadians know that we will have new problems and challenges because the demands of a global economy and of those who need the assistance of government will continue to be there. It will be very difficult to respond to all of those demands.
As we talk about the importance of sound fiscal management, it is also important to note that it must continue. We on this side of the House will continue to follow a prudent and responsible course, one that will give opportunities to the young and the old, one that will enhance and ensure that those who need it will have access to education.
Canadians expect medicare to be preserved. That is my goal and the goal of the government. We want to create an opportunity for all in the country to prosper. That is why I will not support the NDP motion which is before the House today. It is misguided and irresponsible and out of touch with the realities of 1997.
