Furthermore, this is an unprecedented encroachment on a provincial jurisdiction, where Quebec has had the right to opt out, with compensation, since 1964. This encroachment by the federal government is especially unjustified since Quebec has its own student financial assistance program, and one which works just fine.
In fact, Quebec provides assistance to 170,000 students each year. In Quebec, tuition fees are approximately $1,700 a year and the average student debt is $11,000. Elsewhere in Canada, tuition fees are about $3,200 a year and the average student debt as high as $25,000. If the federal government is serious about supporting education, it should give this money back to the provinces to help them improve their current systems.
With respect to research and development, the government announced that the funding for granting councils will be reduced to its 1994 level.
It should be pointed out that, at that time, in 1994, we were already behind and Canada was spending half as much as the average OECD country. In building for the 21st century, this is an area where the federal government should invest more, if our student are to benefit from the expertise of faculty members engaged in research and modern research facilities.
The tax cuts announced by the government are welcome while they remain minimal, amounting to something between $100 and $250 depending on income.
So, while it is giving $7 billion back to taxpayers over three years, the government will take an additional $10 billion from taxpayers because the tax tables are not indexed. Where exactly do taxpayers come out ahead?
The government is still refusing to totally reform taxes to lighten the burden on the middle classes and SMBs and to put an end to tax loopholes. While taxpayers pay heavy taxes, companies enjoy many tax shelters and strategies permitting them to put off paying their taxes for a long time.
Bill C-28, introduced by the Minister of Finance, will allow foreign-based shipping companies to evade Canadian taxes. Family trusts continue to deprive the tax system of millions of dollars, thanks to the complicity of the Department of Revenue.
The minister announced nothing for francophone and Acadian communities. This indicates a total lack of political will, obvious in any case in the latest census where Statistics Canada has created a Canadian/Canadien status devoid of any reference to ethno-linguistic origins.
This political decision keeps three million people of francophone origin out of the statistics and prevents researchers from studying the phenomena of assimilation and the socio-economic problems of the francophone communities in the country. In denying there is any problem, the government justifies its inaction in the areas of access to education, health care, government services and cultural growth in francophone communities.
While the need for French language resources is desperate, the Minister of Canadian Heritage is cutting $22 million from official languages instruction programs.
In cultural terms, this budget offers nothing new. It contains four initiatives that had already been announced: the continuation of the Canadian television and cable production fund, the restoration of the Canada Council's level of funding, a program to help the publishing industry and increased funding for amateur sport. The government also announced, without any details, a program to provide help for the insurance costs of travelling exhibitions.
We support these spending initiatives, but they are totally inadequate, since they give back just a fraction of the money cut in the cultural sector during the Liberal government's last mandate. Yet, spending in this sector greatly promotes job creation. Indeed, studies have shown that creating a job in this sector costs only half as much as it does in the industrial sector.
The government announced it will pursue its program to connect schools and communities to the Internet. However, it has not proposed any funding initiative for multimedia, nor any loan guarantee to create a content that would affirm the presence of Canada's francophone and anglophone cultures on this network.
Yet, this was a commitment made in the second red book, and the Information Highway Advisory Council recommended that $50 million be invested in such a fund. Canada's information highway must not be developed without including cultural and educational components.
The budget makes no mention of funding for both networks of the CBC. We are led to the conclusion that the cuts scheduled for this year will indeed be made.
Nothing is done either for the National Film Board which, following cuts of $45 million, had to virtually abandon its assistance to independent film making, something which particularly jeopardizes the careers of the young film and video makers who represent the future of their industry.
The budget is also silent on another issue, namely the promise to earmark $10 million for works of art designed to celebrate the new millennium.
As regards the sports and cultural events that may lose their tobacco sponsorship, the Quebec government took the lead by pledging to hand over part of the increase in tobacco taxes. As for the federal government, it has not included any support measure, and the Minister of Finance said that tax money is not allocated to any specific item. Therefore, we should expect nothing on that score.
The Minister of Heritage will need to find ways of supporting the periodicals and scientific and cultural periodicals which are being seriously threatened by the reduced postal subsidy and the changes in the applicable rules. In this area, there is a particular threat to specialized French language periodicals, given their limited market.
In spite of these omissions in cultural funding, the Minister of Heritage managed to find $20 million for her propaganda agency, the Canada Information Office.
I could go on, but I will conclude by repeating what many experts have said in the last few days, namely that this budget totally lacks vision.