Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to rise in the House in support of our government's outstanding achievement in bringing Canada back to economic prosperity.
In 1993, the Liberal Party received a very clear mandate from Canadians: that the government's finances must be put in order. Now, more than a year before the target date, we have kept our word and fulfilled our promises. Canadians had sufficient confidence in our ability in this area to give us a second mandate to keep up the good work.
In January 1994 the deficit was $42 billion. The unemployment rate was higher than ever and our debtload had jeopardized the future of our social programs, health programs and most of all our children's futures, my two daughters' futures.
Five years ago I was very concerned about my daughter's future. The country was in a financial and political crisis. But since the Liberals took office over five years ago, more than one million jobs have been created, the unemployment rate has dropped steadily down to 8.9% in January. Now Canada is the first G-7 country to reach its target of a balanced budget. With a growth rate of three and a half per cent in 1998 we will be leading the group of most industrialized countries according to the OECD. So I have good news to tell my two daughters.
With this budget Canadians regained the liberty to choose their future and what they want for their country. We can set our priorities, we can invest in our children and young people, we can create an optimal environment for economic and social prosperity while at the same time pursuing our goal to reduce our debt.
Contrary to what is being said by the official opposition we are not putting aside our concern for the debt. We are putting money aside to take care of the debt. The 50:50 formula proposed during the last election campaign and reaffirmed in the Speech from the Throne is a well balanced approach allowing us to invest in the future while assuring our financial stability. In other words we are beginning to build a house from the foundation up and not the other way around according to some of the opposition members.
To be fiscally responsible while ensuring all citizens have access to high quality health and social services while fighting against social exclusion and creating optimal conditions for growth is what this government is offering to Canadians.
Some members of this House would have us believe that the government should not invest in our future, that it should concentrate solely on debt reduction. We believe the quickest way to reduce our debt is to have a growing economy and therefore to invest in job creation and most of all in education.
I believe the government has a role to play in providing the tools to facilitate growth and this is exactly what this budget is doing.
In my riding of Ahuntsic for example, investments made by the federal government in the transition job fund enabled several textile companies to update their equipment and hire more employees.
Thanks to federal grants, Tricot Giorgio, Tricot Terrytex and Christina Canada were able to buy new state-of-the-art equipment and export their products to new markets. This initiative has generated 366 new jobs in my riding of Ahuntsic since September.
This goes to show the emphasis placed by this government on job creation and the development of a vital economy for my city, Montreal, my province, Quebec, and my country, Canada.
I and many of my colleagues believe that education should be a priority for any government. As we all know, education is a priority for this government. By investing in education the government is showing its clear commitment toward the future of our youth and our country.
My parents believed in education. They sacrificed their own future in order that I would have a better future by coming to Canada. They truly believed, and thanks to them today I can say education is the reason I sit in this House. As the mother of two young daughters I also place a high premium on education. When I have occasion I encourage all the young people in my riding to continue their studies. I believe this is what the budget does. It encourages young people to stay in school and to get a good education in order to have a better future.
The Canadian opportunities strategy will provide Canadians, especially young Canadians, with greater opportunities to prosper in the new knowledge based economy. I believe the federal government has a responsibility to prepare our youth for the 21st century.
Establishing the Canadian millennium scholarship foundation, to support young people who wish to pursue post-secondary studies, fits in with this. Through an initial endowment of $2.5 million, the foundation will provide scholarships to over 100,000 part time and full time Canadian students, and this will be done in partnership with the provinces and the various stakeholders in the education community. This is the most important investment ever made by a Canadian government in support of the education of our youth.
Some criticize this initiative, as if the federal government were trying to take the place of the provinces in the field of education. No one, however, has questioned the fact that the provinces are responsible for programs and their contents, as well as administering educational institutions.
On the contrary, I believe the creation of an independent foundation designed to better position Canadians on the labour market will benefit the provinces. In order to avoid any unnecessary duplication, the administration of the fund and the allocation criteria for scholarships will be decided upon in partnership with the provinces, through an organization at arm's length from the federal government.
Faced with the challenges of the new millennium, governments have a duty to work together. However, we know that the Quebec separatist government does not really intend to co-operate. That might show that Canada works, that Canada is a good place and that Quebeckers should remain in Canada. I feel it would be unfair to penalize thousands of young people from Quebec and elsewhere in the country simply because of the illusions of the separatist leaders.
A well educated labour force creates employment. The youth employment strategy announced in 1997 to help young Canadians in gaining experience in the workplace has been renewed. This is extremely important for young Canadians.
In my riding of Ahuntsic 51 organizations and private enterprise used federal funds to hire 81 young people last summer. Hopefully they will hire more because we have increased funding in that program.
Thanks to these programs, young Canadians are able to find a crucial first job that bridges the gap between school and work. Also, this budget supports youth employment by more than doubling funding for youth at risk, principally those who have not completed high school.
I had occasion to work on three such projects since I was elected to this House. I can say that the young people who finished those projects felt it was one of the best experiences they had. Three of them returned to school, and they were street kids to begin with.
Another measure that encourages youth employment is the employment insurance premium holiday provided to employers for additional Canadians age 18 to 24 hired in 1999 and 2000.
These initiatives will make it easier for young Canadians to integrate into the work force. Yes, with the Canadian opportunities strategy this government is clearly showing its commitment toward the future, a future firmly anchored in the social values of this country and in liberalism and our Liberal values also.
This government is very recognizant, despite what the opposition members would have people believe, of the sacrifices of all Canadians. With Canadians' support and good Liberal management we now have a balanced budget which allows the government to reduce taxes without affecting our social programs.
I believe tax relief must be targeted to support Canadians' priorities and to those who most need it. In fact, my constituents told me so. I polled my constituents and the majority of them asked that there be some tax relief for those in the most need in Canada.
This is what the 1998 budget is proposing by delivering $7 billion of tax relief over the next three years to middle and low income Canadians.
Starting in 1998, the basic personal exemption will increase, meaning 400,000 low income Canadians will no longer pay any federal income tax.
Also, there will be $850 million which will be injected to increase the child tax benefit and to help working Canadians with children.
The government proposes to increase the limit on child care expense deductions from $5,000 to $7,000 for children under 7 and from $3,000 to $4,000 for children between 7 and 16.
The 1998 budget is in keeping with the tradition of sound financial and economic management initiated by this government when it was first elected, in 1993. This approach reflects the priorities of Canadians. This new budget is very significant. By balancing its books, the Liberal government gave back to Canadians the freedom to decide the future of their country. We can now define our priorities and invest to prepare the future of our children and our youth.
