Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to the most historic budget in Canada in almost 30 years.
After the budget was presented all members of Parliament had the opportunity to go back to their constituencies and hold town hall meetings and to have consultations with their constituents concerning this historic budget.
When I was back in my own riding of Mississauga South I received a few phone calls and a number of letters. I spent time walking through the neighbourhoods and talking to businessmen. The one thing that became very clear was that there was a great pride in the fact that we as a country had managed to put our financial house in order and balance the budget. That was the clear message I received in my riding.
There is no question that Canadians were asked to step up and do their share to deal with a $42 billion deficit. They were asked to bear some of the hardship. Members across the House have raised a number of points. I think all Canadians understand that if we did not get our fiscal house in order nothing could be done in terms of backfilling areas of health care, education and social programs. We had to get the fiscal position under control. We had to balance the budget.
I would like to indicate that I will be splitting my time with the Minister of Industry.
The clearest indication of what the budget has done is the signal international financial markets gave to Canada in terms of their assessment of the job we had done in managing the fiscal situation of this country.
For ordinary Canadians the clearest indication that was happening had to do with interest rates in Canada which dropped to the lowest levels in some 30 years. There was a point at which short term rates were some 4% lower than they were in the United States.
An environment was created in Canada which led to massive initiatives to stimulate job creation in Canada. It was not by the government. The government does not create jobs. In fact as part of getting the fiscal situation in order there was significant downsizing of the federal public service. Spending of the government had to decline significantly. There were people who had to bear that pressure and that burden. It was very tough for many Canadians and many public servants.
The fact that interest rates came down represents one of the single largest tax breaks to Canadians that they have seen in a long time. It means that Canadians now have the opportunity provided by lower interest rates. Since house prices and mortgage interest on houses started to go down more Canadians were able to buy houses.
Let us look at the figures, at housing starts, at the number of families that finally have an opportunity to buy houses, and at the sale of cars. The automobile sector represents 30% of the economy in my province of Ontario. Automobiles sales went up.
In addition to the issue of balancing a budget and turning that corner, this is the first budget of this new mandate. This is not the only budget. There are things yet to do. There are commitments to be made.
Certainly we have in the budget an emphasis on education, tax relief and debt relief. The stage has now been set for further changes to be made. In the absence of an economic downturn, I am absolutely sure we will see continued benefits for Canadians both in terms of tax relief and social programs as well as the important reduction of Canada's debt.
I will conclude my comments because I am sure members will have some questions.
