Mr. Speaker, it feels just a little bit strange tonight after the episode that we have gone through over the last couple of days that I would be up speaking on the budget which has already been passed. I thought the purpose of a debate was that hopefully you could sway somebody to see things your way and maybe influence them when the issue came to a vote, but this issue has been settled and we are still debating it.
I am pleased to participate to that extent but I find it really strange. I should not get too upset or worried about it. What I have seen happen in this House in the last four and a half years that I have been here is that most of the decisions are made before we start talking about them in the House of Commons. Unfortunately, behind closed doors a decision is made by a few then everybody is instructed how to vote. That is exactly what happens. They come out like little puppets and vote the way they are told, then it carries and the debate does not really mean much anyway.
I am going to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to the taxpayers of Canada. Although for the last month the Liberals across the floor have been busy patting each other on the back for a job well done, we all know that the balanced budget is due to the hard work and sacrifice of Canadians from coast to coast. Their sacrifice has been compounded through provincial hardships which no one wants to talk about in this House.
The truth of the matter is that the federal government has forced the provincial governments to do its political dirty work by reducing transfer payments by up to 55% for health care and education. That has put an additional strain on our already strapped provincial governments while the Liberal government has been allowed to write in black ink. It has forced provincial governments into the red in an effort to balance their budgets. This cannot, in my view, be considered a success.
To add insult to injury, the Liberals have begun a surplus spending spree, which is a very good habit of theirs. We can simply look at the $600 billion debt. We know that the Liberals started that debt and then the Conservatives chimed in. They really like to spend. They spread our hard earned gains so thin that no real good will be done.
Instead of giving taxpayers well deserved tax relief or reducing the debt, they have launched $11 billion of new spending. Once again we have all sizzle and no steak from our finance minister. It is a classic example of short term thinking and there will be no long term rewards for our nation. It is obvious the Liberals can only think as far ahead as the next election.
The big government philosophy of the 1980s has not yet left the Liberal Party. We continue to see billions of tax dollars wasted each year in the name of political pride.
First we had the Pearson fiasco to the tune of $260 million. Then we had the Airbus scandal which cost us $3.4 million. It was a futile but expensive effort to try to embarrass a past prime minister. The helicopter deal cost us $478 million in cancellation penalties. Only in the Liberal Party could they spend twice the amount for half of the helicopters and call it a good deal.
This budget is clearly without a plan.
In presenting the 1991 budget Michael Wilson stated “We will establish a debt service and reduction fund solely dedicated to offsetting the costs of the public debt. All revenues from the goods and services tax and from privatization will flow into this fund”. That was a promise made back when the fabulous GST was brought in, which the Conservatives were going to steer directly toward the debt in order to get it under control. It was a big joke.
If nothing else, the 1991 budget had a vision. It was not long after that that the Tories gave up the responsible spending fight and selected the easier tax and spend rhetoric, just like the Liberals are doing today. We really only need two parties in the House, the spenders and the non-spenders.
In addition by the year 2000, Canadians will be paying $48 billion per year more in taxes than when the Liberals were elected. This increase alone is equivalent to $5,000 per Canadian family. Beware Canadian families. The day is coming. Taxes are going to go higher and higher. This budget proves it.
In addition, by the year 2000 the Liberals will be collecting $22 billion per year in GST. That is 46% more than the year they were elected. That is an awful lot of money for a tax which our Prime Minister promised to abolish. He gave the nation his word. He was going to abolish it. Instead it is going to draw 46% more.
As a former teacher I am deeply concerned about the young people of Canada. What will the future hold for them? This budget offers them little hope.
The Prime Minister's millennium legacy scholarship fund and job training programs, such as youth service Canada, are merely band-aids and not solutions to the problems facing youth. Once again our government is playing a public relations game with Canadian youth. On the one hand there is the slash and burn approach to cutting education transfer payments to the provinces which makes the dream of a university education unattainable for many. Then in a vain attempt to make itself look good, the government offers a select few students funding by way of scholarships which will not begin until the year 2000. For the vast majority of desperate youth today, the millennium fund will be too late.
The Liberals' ambivalence toward children begins at an early age. By expanding the child care expense deduction they have added to the degeneration of the Canadian family unit by promoting non-parental child care. It is beyond me why the government does not understand that a child's parents will provide the best care available.
Our entire tax structure focuses on those who use alternative care. A recent Compas research poll stated that 90% of the population believes a family setting is preferable to daycare when asked what is the best for an infant or a preschool child.
I really have a tough time when I hear about a father or mother who wishes to stay home with the children while the other one works and they are not going to be able to because of this budget and this government. These parents must work in order to meet the taxes that they are going to be obligated to pay. I truly believe that many of the problems with today's youth, including violent crime, teenage pregnancies and the intolerable dropout rates stem back to the government's promotion of limited home parental care.
When I came here in 1993, the Liberals said there were one million children in this country who were living in poverty and starving. Now in 1998 I still hear the same thing from that side of the House. I heard a member a moment ago talking about all the wonderful money they are going to give to the CBC, the little give outs here and all the wonderful glorious things they are going to do. But nobody has given any money to these children.
How about giving to the children's aid societies in these cities that are struggling to try to keep food on these kids' tables and clothes on their backs. When are they going to start doing something like that? I guess that is not the politically popular thing to do.
One more group which has been neglected and which I would like to speak about is the seniors. This budget has left them standing in the cold. In 1996 the seniors benefit was floated as a trial balloon in the budget with the legislation promised for the fall of that year. This proposal established a punishing marginal tax rate of up to 75% for middle and upper income seniors while providing a meagre 17 cents a day to the poorer seniors. Two years have passed and the finance minister has not found a face-saving solution to this dilemma.
Reform believes that changes should be made on the following basis. The benefit must be better targeted to those in need. Any reduction in benefits must treat middle and upper income groups fairly. There must be sufficient time for not yet retired people to make retirement plans. For those whose birthdays cause them to miss the cutoff date they are being unduly penalized. Apparently this government feels that it is fair to ignore Canadians who have generously paid taxes their entire lives and are looking to enjoy what few years they have left. They should not get their hopes up because there is nothing in this budget that is going to make that happen.
Next on the list of those that do not concern the Liberal government are the Canadian small businessmen. It has upped the payroll taxes and given no tax relief to the businesses, especially small businesses that provide jobs. People running small businesses should not get their hopes up because nothing is going to happen through this budget.
In conclusion, the Canadian government has finally stopped acting like a household living beyond its means. It may have cut up the credit cards but the debt remains. Regretfully the Liberals' spending of our surplus on new programs is a sign that we will soon see a deficit again which will truly be a shame.