Mr. Speaker, first let me offer my congratulations to you on your new office. We are all confident you will do a great job.
Let me also say that I am sharing my time with the hon. member for St. Catharines.
I am very pleased to participate in this debate. There is no question the Speech from the Throne we heard this past Tuesday speaks for itself. Nonetheless we are here, opposition members from one point of view and government members from another, to debate the merits or demerits of the throne speech.
The fact I am here as the member for Algoma—Manitoulin is due to the voters of my riding who expressed their support in me. I appreciate that. We all had supporters among our volunteers and our loved ones. On behalf of all of us may I thank many people across the country who participated in the political process, in the democratic process. They are helping to make this country the greatest country in the world with a parliament that at times seems to be raucous and noisy but a parliament that works, a parliament in which we can all have confidence.
I never cease to be in awe of this place even though this is my second term. I say to first time members of the House that they can make of this job what their efforts produce. If they serve their constituents and their country well, they will feel the reward of knowing that the country is bit by bit moving positively into the next millennium.
It is appropriate that a Liberal government will lead the country into the next millennium. Our Prime Minister is the right person to lead the government into the next thousand years.
The throne speech has shown in many ways the caring and nurturing side of government. Too often our citizens are cynical about government at all levels and the processes which seem to take place behind closed doors and in faraway places. We demonstrated in the last Parliament—and we will show it again—that this is an open, transparent government, a government that will listen to the people and will make decisions, often tough decisions, that are needed to continue keeping the country the best country in the world.
I will quote one sentence from the Prime Minister's speech of yesterday which sums up for me the theme of my remarks. He said “Canada will remain the best country to live in because it cares about people”.
In my time around here as the member of Parliament for Algoma—Manitoulin I have learned that ultimately voters want to know their governments and representatives care about them and their communities. The less we express and show that, the more distant they feel.
My riding in northern Ontario stretches from Manitouwadge in the northwest to Chapleau in the northeast and south to the north shore of Lake Huron including Manitoulin Island. Whether we represent a downtown city core or urban riding or a large rural riding, we are representing Canadians. They are Canadians who all feel the same way about their country.
The throne speech expresses the caring nature of the government. We can find no greater evidence than in the words of the throne speech.
Let us start with the issue of the economy. In the last Parliament a tremendous challenge was facing us with the deficit at record levels. Let us imagine newspaper headlines screaming aloud that the government has brought our country into the black. Over the next year and a half, if not sooner, we will be in a surplus position. What greater thing can we do for preserving our health care programs, our pension programs, programs for youth and so on, than by ensuring our economy is strong and vibrant based on a set of books we can all be proud of whether a member of the opposition or not.
That essence of caring has given Canadians for the first time in a long time a real sense of hope, optimism and confidence about the future. We are certainly not there yet when it comes to solving all the problems of the country. There will always be challenges and problems to face. It has been a long time since this country has been at such a tremendous juncture in its history. In fact there is so much confidence as we approach the next millennium that the Prime Minister in the throne speech announced that we are going to have a tremendous millennium party in two and a half years, a party which I believe the world will come to because people around the world know that we have a country that cares about people.
Even though we hear complaints from different parts of the country it is only because people know that the government will listen when they speak and cry out for help. They know we will respond.
A caring government must look at the first and most important group in our society, our children. We have recognized that children must get a good start in life, be it through proper nutrition or through proper education. We have made tremendous strides, in co-operation with all the provinces, in developing a national child benefit system. It is not completed yet but I believe it will evolve into a model for the world.
When it comes to the young people of our society, people who we worry a lot about because of their concerns of future employment, this government in the last Parliament, and even more this Parliament, stands ready to make sure that in co-operation with the provinces through an enhanced scholarship program, through initiatives with industry it can make sure that they have a chance at that first job, at starting life on the right foot.
If, for some reason, they get off on the wrong foot we are there to make sure they have a second and a third chance if necessary.
We are also looking out for those in our society who find themselves in the middle ages, sometimes victims of structural change. With changing societies and economies, we will see jobs lost here and jobs created somewhere else. That is the nature of our modern society. We have the sadness which comes with losing a job maybe at the age of 40 or 50 years of age. Many of my constituents have faced that challenge, particularly in Elliot Lake. It is incumbent on us to continue to assist people caught in this way with retraining or appropriate early retirement programs.
For the final age category, that being our elderly, what more can a government do but to make sure that the pension systems are secure and that seniors do not have to worry about the future.
I heard from the seniors. They were worried about the future. When they understood through our campaign that we were committed to securing the Canada pension plan for the future and that we were developing the seniors benefit plan, they knew that the government would be watching out for them.
This does not say that some people don't get lost in the cracks. It is incumbent on the government to close those cracks, to make sure that nobody is left behind. It is an absolute feature of a caring government that no one gets left behind.
Mr. Speaker, again I wish you the very best in your new office over this next Parliament. I wish the best for all my colleagues as we look forward to an exciting and vigorous Parliament over this next few years.