Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his kind words. If I was eloquent it was mostly by accident, but I thank him for his kind words.
People who run a household know about setting priorities. In Canada, the fact that the government takes more in taxes than people spend on food, clothing and shelter combined, means that a lot of their choices are taken away from them.
We want our government to do some things for us. We find it a good way to pool our resources to look after those who are truly in need. However, the debate is about choices. When an average citizen, such as a millwright, makes around $4000 or $5000 a month, works overtime and does the job, and then finds out that fully half of his paycheque has gone to CPP, EI and all the global tax deductions, he says “I made $4000, but $2000 went to the government. Now I have $2000. My mortgage is $1000. Now I am down to $1000 to feed and clothe my family, to provide for their education and to provide for my retirement”.
I agree with the hon. member that government spending is about choosing priorities, but we should not have to choose a medicine that is so harsh and severe that it kills the patient. We should have a better choice. One of those better choices, which I hope we will hear when the finance minister speaks today, is a specific commitment to tax relief that is as specific as the many commitments that have been made to new spending.
The commitments to new spending seem to be ironclad. They seem to be saying “We will spend money on the following”. Government departments came up with a wish list of $47 billion, which seems to be solid. It seems to be a sure thing.
I hope the minister says this afternoon that there is another sure thing, that taxes will be cut by 25% over the next three years, that EI premiums will be lowered to where the auditor general says they should be, not a tentative little nibble from $2.55 to $2.40, but a big chunk of tax relief down to $2.05 where the premiums need to be. I hope the government will not just nibble a bit and hope that Canadians will benefit from one bit of tax blessing or another which it chooses to mete out. I hope the minister will say that there will be broad based tax relief.
The government should plagiarise a proposal of the Reform Party and say “We are going to give you 25% tax relief over three years. Here is how it will be done. It is a firm commitment, as firm as our spending commitments. Canadians can take it to the bank, spend it on their mortgages, look after their kids and plan for the future. It will be done. The commitment is there because that is the choice the government has made”.
I hope that is what we are going to hear this afternoon, but there is not a collective holding of breath out in the hinterlands waiting for the finance minister to be that specific.