Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I join the budget debate. This debate comes at a very interesting time in our country's history, inasmuch as all of our citizens know we are approaching the end of a millennium and the beginning of a new one.
It is heartening for all of us, even for our friends across the way, to know that this government has been able to put the finances of the country on such a firm footing that we are now the envy of countries like Japan, who only wish they could find themselves in the situation we now find ourselves in.
Imagine having inherited an annual deficit of $42 billion. In a short period of time, from 1993 to February 1998, this government has been able to balance the books, to eliminate the deficit and to give all Canadians, either as private citizens or as business people, a sense of renewed confidence, a renewed vision for all, as we end this millennium and prepare for a new one.
I have just a word about my riding because it will help put into context some of my comments. My riding of Algoma—Manitoulin, a northern Ontario riding, is roughly the size of New Brunswick. It contains a beautiful major part of the Boreal forest, sections of the Great Lakes of Huron and Superior, numerous First Nations communities and communities that were founded either as railway towns, forestry towns or mining towns which today have, for a number of reasons, evolved into renewed communities, communities that hope for great things for themselves and for young people. While I will acknowledge there are challenges ahead, there will always be challenges. It is incumbent on us as elected representatives and as a government to respond to our local leaders and our citizens with vigour, vision and energy.
As I travelled throughout my large riding, I go into these communities with a sense of pride knowing this government has been a caring government. This is a government which has listened to the voters and has, as its first priority, getting our finances in order. We know that ensuring the sustainability of our social programs, our health care system, our pension system depends on having a strong financial base. To the credit of the Prime Minister and the finance minister this has been done in a very careful and caring way.
I am the chairman of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources and Government Operations and it is our intention, as an all party committee, to pursue a study done in the last Parliament called think rural. It was very important in this last budget, as in previous budgets, that rural Canada receive the attention it deserves.
The federal development agency in northern Ontario called FedNor was due to expire next March but has been renewed at an annual funding of $20 million a year indefinitely. This program which is an important program for economic development in northern Ontario can now depend on long term funding. Its programs can now become more responsive to the needs of business and communities.
In addition, the Canadian rural partnership which is a $20 million program will spend $5 million a year over the next few years. It will be designed to allow local non-profit groups, municipalities and their leaders to come up with new and innovative ways to make sure rural Canada has the best and every opportunity to stay up with our urban neighbours.
It is all too often the case but a fact of economics that with the recovery we are seeing in our economy it is natural that our urban areas feel it first. We are seeing tremendous progress when it comes to job creation. The last report which indicated an 8.6% unemployment rate is the lowest we have seen in decades. I will grant that it is not low enough but I believe we are going to see that rate of unemployment drop continually over the months and years ahead.
I intend to speak with local leaders about the Canadian rural partnership initiative and that will give us an opportunity to pilot some projects in our rural areas which will help prepare our rural communities for the next millennium. The economic growth we are seeing in our urban areas will also, as it should, include our rural areas. We are seeing that happen.
Much depends on initiatives taken at the local level, be it municipal leaders or business leaders. It is incumbent on the government not to be out telling local communities what they should do but rather to listen to ideas and where appropriate help them get their ideas off the ground.
Some would argue that government has absolutely no place when it comes to being involved with either the private sector or local government but I disagree strongly. The federal government with its national vision can and should certainly be there to partner with local communities.
Take for example the long term vision of this government for pharmacare or home care. A budget of $150 million has been set aside for local areas to create and experiment with new ideas to deliver pharmacare or home care. This is part of a national evolution toward universal coverage of pharmacare and home care. This is very important to me. It is one thing for a federal government to have a vision, but it has to be prepared to partner with communities and local leaders who must deliver that vision at the end of the day to the grassroots level.
I believe it is wrong to think the federal government is limited to international and military affairs and so on. We have a very important place at the local level, especially as we see the provinces moving away from engagement with local leaders and their communities. We have seen this happen with Ontario.
When it comes to rural Canada, the government has committed to making sure through the Canada access program, CAP, and SchoolNet that all our communities, their schools and libraries are hooked up to cyberspace through the Internet. In the very near term we will see that every community is hooked up.
In addition to the specific initiatives for rural Canada such as FedNor, the Canadian rural partnership initiative, SchoolNet and CAP, a government that can keep interest rates and inflation down, that can keep our exchange rate with the U.S. in particular at a stable state is a government that is helping not only urban Canada but rural Canada. A rising tide raises all boats. It is unrealistic to expect that rural Canada can do well if our cities are not doing well or that our cities can do well if our rural areas are not doing well.
We are all in this together. Whether it is improving the literacy rate of Canadians, whether it is ensuring that our pension programs are secure for the future, which we have done, whether it is providing important tax cuts to selected taxpayers at the low and middle incomes levels, whatever the initiative, I believe this government has put people first. We are prepared to listen. My constituents can count on me to listen to them.