Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to engage in today's debate on Bill C-36, the budget implementation act. I hope not to address what this government has done for Canadians but rather to point out what this government has done to Canadians. I will discuss what Canadians wanted from this budget and how this budget affects Canadian families and students.
On budget day the finance minister stood up and smugly told Canadians that he had slain the deficit monster. Well, I disagree. The deficit has been fought on the backs of the taxpayers. The hon. secretary of state was mentioning “We did it. The government did it. We did this, we did that”. It was the hard work of the Canadian taxpayers that balanced this budget and I do not think the government should lose sight of that fact.
The hon. member mentioned a balanced budget. He was trumpeting his own government's balanced budget. In 1993 we were saying that could be accomplished within three years. The government scoffed at that, yet it put in place the same kind of plan.
I sent out a householder survey in my riding of Dewdney—Alouette and had over 500 people respond on questions having to do with the budget. I will take a few minutes to touch on some of the results and point out some of the things Canadians wanted but did not get from the budget.
On the question of government spending, 72% of the people who responded in Dewdney—Alouette said that spending should be reduced. Only 3% of the respondents believed government spending should be increased.
On the question of interest on the debt and initiatives for debt reduction, 96% of the people who responded believed that government should set real goals and timetables to lower the debt.
On the point of deficit spending, my constituents were asked whether they believe the government should pass legislation to prevent deficit spending from happening again. Overwhelmingly, constituents sent a clear message. Of those asked, 92% supported the notion of this type of legislation preventing future deficit spending which of course has led to the enormously huge national debt of close to $600 billion.
Yes, the tax burden imposed on Canadian families is enormous. Canadian families work half the year just to pay their tax bill. For most Canadians, forgoing a second income is not even an option. For those who decide to stay at home and raise their children, they are unable to take advantage of some of the deductions for families who choose to have their children in care. We would like the government to address that and to have equity for all Canadian families.
Canadians wanted the government to cut spending. They wanted tax relief. They wanted the government to address the debt. What did Canadians get? They got higher spending on the part of the government, higher taxes and a government that is on the brink of falling back into the deficit gorge with any fluctuation in interest rates.
I will briefly touch on the millennium scholarship foundation. As some members mentioned earlier, this is not really about education, it is about the Prime Minister using taxpayer dollars to boost his political profile. The way this was handled in the budget was quite surprising. I find it quite unbelievable.
The government simply cannot record something just because it announced the intention of doing something. There is a difference between an expenditure and a future commitment. The finance minister lost sight of this fact. The very finance minister who is trumpeting the budget for what it does for education slashed and burned health care and education funding by $7 billion. That is a fact that cannot be lost on Canadians.
A few members mentioned B.C. I am glad they realize where it is now because there will soon be blowing an ill wind from the west.
If the Liberals really had a concern about education, they could never have cut to the degree that they have cut since 1993 and then make these half measures, not even half measures, not even quarter measures, to try to convince Canadians that they care about education. Words are empty if they are not backed up by actions. Canadians are starting to realize that a budget that pretends to address all these concerns in not even quarter measures just does not match up with the actions the government is implementing in the budget.
I was talking to two university professors about the millennium scholarship foundation. They thought it was a good idea until I pointed out to them that the students at their institution would not be eligible for these scholarships. This is due to the fact that they teach at a public institution that is privately funded. Students who choose to go to that type of institution do not have the opportunity to take part in the millennium scholarship foundation. That is a shame because this is not even a quarter measure, as I mentioned before. It does not address the concerns of the majority of students in this country.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak to over 60 high school students. I was explaining to them the concern with the debt and why we need to address that debt which is close to $600 billion. They asked me how that was possible. I used the story of overspending.
When a government chooses to overspend year after year, the debt piles up higher and higher. I had to explain to those high school students that $45 billion goes to interest on that debt alone and is eating the heart out of our social programs. They were shocked that this could happen in our country. They asked me how it happened? I said because the governments of the day put us in this shape because they did not take care of the financial house of this country. I am sorry to say, but the Liberal government started us along this path.
I explained the so-called debt contingency retirement plan of the finance minister. He wants to dedicate $3 billion to debt retirement on that total of almost $600 billion. There is a big if. That is if that money not needed for other spending. I see it as an escape clause that could be used at any time for the finance minister to dedicate to any other kind of spending without having to put it to debt retirement.
If we treated our mortgages on our homes in the same way the government is treating the national debt, we would be hauled off and put into a place not nearly as nice as this for not meeting our financial obligation. We must have this house in order.
This finance minister's plan does not address any kind of substantial debt retirement plan. That debt was created over years. There has to be a plan to get that debt down. The future of our country hangs in the balance as a result of that. This government must take note of that and do something about it. It must do something soon with a concrete plan; not an if plan, not a plan that if we do not need the money we will put it to debt retirement. It has to be a committed plan.
When I was talking to those high school students they were shocked at the state of our country. They asked me why I wanted to get into politics. I was a teacher prior to this. I said this country needs people who are willing to stand up for their future, for our children's future, for the future of our nation and set a course to address the major concerns in this country. That is why I entered politics. We hope to influence the government to look at these concerns and these issues and address them with concrete plans.
It is for that reason that I cannot support Bill C-36.