Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca for his very considered comments. I would like to talk to the hon. member's comments with respect to taxation and some of the myths he and his party have been promoting about the government's increasing taxes.
I would like to speak briefly on the question of skills, training, research and development and how that is so important to achieving our competitive position in the world and creating more prosperity for Canadians.
While I would not say that in R and D and training we have and are doing everything that we should as a government, we are providing some leadership in these areas. For example, I attended an award ceremony in my riding for 14 young students who had just come through an internship program.
They had been offered internship positions in companies and they were able to develop their skills on the job at Humber College. They were then in a position to go into these companies full time. The companies took the risk, gave them the chance to development their skills and now they have a job. They have some experience and they are employed. I am sure they will add value to these companies. That is the kind of thing we should be doing more of because young people today are in the dilemma of not being able to find jobs because they lack experience.
In the last budget we introduced there were 19,000 new internship positions created. This will allow young people to enter the work force and create the skill sets that are going to be needed.
I am working on a project in my riding, the telecommunications learning institute, which will create the skills that are going to be needed by the telecommunications industry in the future. These initiatives are very positive. We are doing much but we could be doing more perhaps.
In the area of innovation the hon. member graciously acknowledges the $800 million the government has put into the Canadian foundation for innovation. This is a hugely beneficial initiative that will help to build our technology infrastructure and allow us to be very competitive.
With respect to taxes there is a lot one could get into but without the time I will not do that. I have not looked at the statistics lately but it is my understanding that direct foreign investment into Canada is still very strong and positive. If the tax burdens in Canada were so bad for business why would they not stay away? I find it mischievous to say the least that the hon. member and his party talk about the government's increasing taxes. I do not know how many times I have seen our finance minister stand up with his budget and say the words no new taxes. I did not see the parties opposite challenge him then.
I think they are playing on words with respect to indexing of deductions and personal exemptions which are effectively in their jargon or in their political rhetoric. We have increased taxes to the banks. We have closed loopholes and we have a much larger tax base because of a much stronger economy.