Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be here this morning to take part in the debate on the implementation of certain provisions of the budget.
We have seen something different from the government this year in that it has finally introduced a balanced budget. The government predicts that this will be the case over the next three fiscal years. However, its actions in this have not changed dramatically.
As we have seen time and time again with this government it has taken measures to limit debate on various bills, including this bill. It seems that it does not want members to do their job, that is, to examine these bills in this place and to represent the views of their constituents.
The government has with this stage of Bill C-36, as it has time after time, tried to restrict the voices of millions of Canadians so that it can have its way and pass bills which may not serve the best interests of the people and of the nation.
The official opposition has introduced an amendment to this bill which states:
That the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word “That” and substituting the following:
“this House declines to give second reading to Bill C-36, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 24, 1998, since the principle of the Bill, while charging the Consolidated Revenue Fund to establish and fund the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, fails to guarantee that appropriate and objective accounting standards will be followed as advocated by the Auditor General.”
I have had the pleasure of sitting on the public accounts committee and listening to the reports that the auditor general brings to that committee.
Before I speak to the specifics of the measures that the Minister of Finance brought forward in his latest budget which are being implemented by this bill, I would like to take a moment to talk about the auditor general.
The individual appointed to this position serves parliament as the watchdog of government, government finances and government departments. He works for parliament, not the government.
This individual is charged with ensuring that the government is wisely spending taxpayers' hard-earned money and making sure that taxpayers get good value for their money. In today's economic environment getting good value for our money is something that we all must do.
Under the scrutiny of the auditor general the government has had to become more prudent in its fiscal management, and I have the greatest respect for the office of the auditor general and for this mandate.
Bill C-36 contains legislation intended to implement many of the announcements made by the government in this year's budget. The bill is divided into 13 parts, each of which either establishes a new program, amends existing legislation to alter program delivery or authorizes the federal government to engage in some new activity.
The scope of this act includes the Canada millennium scholarship foundation, assistance to reduce student debt, grants to encourage savings under registered education savings programs, and incentives under the Employment Insurance Act to provide a premium holiday in 1999 and the year 2000 for employers who hire young people.
Low income families will qualify for the Canada child tax benefit. There are some minor changes, mainly cosmetic, which affect old age security and veterans allowances. Other provisions of this bill include a wide variety of items such as raising excise taxes on cigarettes, reducing the excise tax on air transportation and allowing certain native bands to impose a 7% value added tax on alcohol, tobacco and fuels.
Although many of my constituents in Cariboo—Chilcotin express some happiness with the fact that the books finally are balanced, they certainly do not feel this is the government's victory. They feel this is their victory. They are the ones suffering the enormous tax burden like most Canadians. They are also suffering the enormous cuts to health and social programs, a lot of them at the provincial level after transfer payments were cut.
While watching programs and services that directly affect their everyday lives such as health care and declines due to cutbacks, they have seen the federal government dole out millions of dollars on such things as free flags. This is discouraging. Many of my constituents understand that we simply cannot continue living as we have become accustomed to in past generations, we have to start taking responsibility for ourselves and our families. We have to stop living beyond our means.
My constituents are angry at the lack of prioritization by this government. They would rather have a much smaller and more affordable bureaucracy. They would rather see cuts in the senior levels of the public service than cuts at the service levels. They would rather have money go to programs and services which would benefit everyday lives instead of going into programs which are more symbolic and do not have a direct impact on everyday lives. We saw that in the flag program and we see it again in the millennium scholarship fund.
The Minister of Finance has stated in question period that my party is against education simply because we oppose this bill. That simply is not true. What we oppose is the manner in which this government has established this fund. After reading the editorials from my local newspapers and listening to my constituents, the biggest disappointments from this year's budget are that there is no tax relief and the government is not putting a real down payment on eliminating our huge debt.
I am sure it comes as no surprise that my party feels there is a better way of dealing with putting our fiscal house in order. We would introduce debt and tax relief measures as a way to stimulate job creation and economic growth. This would help alleviate the much publicized brain drain which sees many of our brightest citizens leaving Canada in search of jobs and lower tax jurisdictions.
There is also the view of many of our critics that we oppose many of the universal social programs that have become a cornerstone of Canadian society. Again this is simply not the case. We do oppose the view that these universal social programs run by the bureaucrats are the best and the only way to care for the poor, the sick, the old and the young.
We support a greater focusing of social policy benefits in hopes of targeting benefits to those who really need the help, doing so in a rational and compassionate manner. Over the past decade in particular we have had to change how we live in this country.
We are all more dependent on our families than we were before. We have had to take more responsibility for ourselves and our loved ones and we have to live within our means on shrinking budgets. Our standard of living is much lower than it was even five years ago.
I am sure there is a great deal of pride in the fact that we as a society are able to look after ourselves, our loved ones and those who look to us. But Canadians also have a lot of resentment over the abuses within our system, the money that is wasted and the intrusion in people's lives.
I hear time and time again from those in my riding the resentment of my constituents over the smugness of the bureaucrats running these programs who say their way is the best and the only way. It brings out real hostility and resentment. People are sick of governments that arrogantly impose their ivory tower, socialistic philosophies which have diminished us culturally, socially and economically.
I am in full support of the amendment brought forward by my party and in opposition to this bill and the tactics of limiting debate that the government is insistent on using in passing this bill. Not only is it censoring both me and my colleagues and the members of the House in speaking on behalf of their constituents, it is also censoring our constituents as a result of the time allocations it has imposed on the House of Commons.
The government's action immediately preceding and with the announcement of this year's budget denied Canadians their first real budgetary surplus in decades. As seen in the plethora of spending measures in this year's budget, including what many perceive as the Prime Minister's only real legacy, the millennium fund, we have seen this government return to its tax and spend ways. The government had a wonderful opportunity this year. It could have given Canadians some real tax relief and start to make payments on our debt after years of mismanagement.
The Liberal government made a clear choice this year to keep Canadians overtaxed by introducing new programs that will only help a small percentage of Canadians. The message from my riding of Cariboo—Chilcotin is clear. What a let down. I urge all my colleagues to join me in opposing this bill.