That is interesting. My friend says the United States government. There is a lot of truth, unfortunately, in that. We will come back to that in a moment. The person in charge sits over there. He is called the Minister of Finance. He actually decides now on major social policy in the country.
Let us go back one budget. In last year's budget we were having this debate. One of the big items was the millennium scholarship fund.
The government said “This is what we are doing for education. We thought this through. We have education policy. We want to find ways and means of encouraging young people and others back into the school system, whether it be university, vocational school, college, technical school, an institute or whatever. We have this great idea. Its called the millennium scholarship fund and it will provide support for at least 7% of the students of this country”. What about the other 93%? The funds have been cut to universities and colleges. The government got out of the student loan program. For those 7% of students there is a scholarship fund.
They made educational policy. Was it the backbenchers on the Liberal side? No. It certainly was not on this side. Did we have a single debate in the House of Commons on education? Not a minute of debate.
The Minister of Finance decided that he knows best and he knows what educational policy should be. He introduced it. He is a very smart man. He is a very nice guy. I do not think he knows anything about educational policy. Why should he? He is a financier. That is his responsibility. That is the beginning.
We then asked what does this country need. It requires a major overhaul of our health care system. We all agree that health care is a crucial priority. Who decides on health care policy? Is it the Minister of Health? No, it is the Minister of Finance. He decides how much money is going into the system.
A few years ago he said “We will gut the health care system, slash the guts out of the health care system”. The government did, almost to the point this was an emergency situation. Now the minister says they have made a mistake. Things have to be changed so they will start refunding health care. Five years from now we will be at the level we were five years ago.
The Minister of Finance is determining health care policy in this great country. There is something wrong with this. This is just the beginning. I could speak for the next two hours about the Minister of Finance being in charge of everything in this country. Cabinet is not in charge and neither is the Prime Minister.
I will use one other example because it is a hot issue, the replacement to the Young Offenders Act. The government brought in the new Young Offenders Act which has various provisions and ideas, some very positive, some questionable, some negative. Nevertheless it is a reasonable try at doing a better job in terms of dealing with young offenders. I will give the government credit for that.
However, what is lacking? Are ideas lacking? No. Are new initiatives lacking? No. Are new proposals lacking? No. There is no money to implement the program. We could have all the programs, all the policies, all the new initiatives, all the new legislation, new regulations we want, but if no money is available to deliver to the provinces, what good is it?
That is the same problem we had with the last Young Offenders Act. One of the main problems we had with the last Young Offenders Act was that it had all types of suggestions that judges could take but there was no substance. There were no opportunities at the local level. Lawyers could argue on behalf of their young offender clients about the most appropriate way to deal with an offence but the judge would say he had no choice but to throw the kid in jail. That is the only choice the judge would have. Unfortunately after this new legislation is in place, if that takes place, it will be the same situation.
If my recollection serves me, there is $200 million available over the next three years to implement all the provisions in this new act. It is pittance. It is an impossibility to implement the provisions of this new Young Offenders Act. That is the mythology. Who decides this? Who decides how young offenders are dealt with? Is it the Minister of Justice? No. Is it the solicitor general? No. Is it anybody in cabinet? Yes, the Minister of Finance.
There is something wrong with this picture. I can see members shaking their heads. I think we all agree. There is something wrong with the system. We have to change this so that the Minister of Finance can spread his decision making around slightly.
This was also to be a budget about productivity, acknowledging that we need to improve our productivity. I think we all agree there are areas of the economy where productivity is important. When we say the word productivity, most Canadians watching will start to panic. When people hear the word productivity they think of layoffs, salary cuts and overtime. In other words, productivity does not mean what productivity is. Productivity means tougher times for most working people.
When we talk about productivity, I will take my hat off and acknowledge that the government put aside some money for research and development, to fund some of the major research agencies of the country. That was a positive step. By and large those funds are destined for the large multinational corporations. That is fair enough if some incentive will get them moving into more highly productive areas.
Where the real innovation and creativity takes place is in the small businesses of the country, in the medium sized businesses that are out there on the cutting edge of technological change, the innovators. Therein lies a real serious funding problem. The government would rather fund Bombardier, which probably does not really need any help, than to fund that small business in New Brunswick, northern Manitoba or wherever. That funding is not there. That is a serious problem we have to confront through either the tax system, granting agencies or whatever, to recognize that is where the real creativity is.
I will identify the fundamental fault with this legislation in this budget. What kind of successful life would you have if you did not have a clue where you were going, if you did not have a clue what you would try to do in the next two months, two years or whatever?
It is fair to say that for anyone to be a successful individual, however success is defined, there needs to be a bit of a road map. Goals and strategies have to be set. There has to be a plan, a business plan as the business community would call it. A person with a business idea, whether a farmer, small entrepreneur, home based business or self-employed, before going into any lending institution has to have a thought through business plan in order to qualify for support or funding.
That is the first thing anybody asks for. What is your plan? Where are you going?
Mr. Speaker, I know you are very successful in a whole variety of areas and I know the reason you are successful is you know how to write a good business plan. Successful business people know how to write a successful business plan because it is fundamental. Your plan on politics may be a little warped but that is something we can discuss another time, Mr. Speaker.
We need a plan to be successful as individuals. There has to be a plan to be successful in business. There has to be a plan to be successful as any organization, whether it is the Red Cross, the Boy Scouts, a minor hockey team or whatever. There has to be a plan to be successful. We all agree with this fundamental premise.
What about as a country? Do we need a plan to be successful as a country or can we just mumble, fumble and jumble our way through? That is what we are doing. Most Canadians if asked what they thought the game plan for our federal government is would probably laugh or shudder “oh my God, I think it is this but I am not sure”.
Why would Canadians not be aware of what our plan as a country is? We do not have a plan. We have no idea where we will be six months from now. Look at the budget itself. When most countries put together a budget their minister of finance has the guts to say “This is where I think our projects are going for at least the next five years. For five years this is what we project our revenues to be and for five years this is what we predict our expenditures to be”.
We do not dare go there as a country. We might foray out a couple of years. That is it. Even those, let us face it, are ultra conservative proposals. Even the Minister of Finance agrees we have no plan. We do not plan ahead and therefore we are in trouble. How can we evaluate a budget that is not based on anything?
One thing in this budget that really concerns me is the revenue agency being created, this monstrous form of government that will have access in everybody's lives, and this legislation facilitates that.
They say we will share information about people. This is the ultimate in big brother, sharing information between provincial governments and federal government departments about individuals.
If this agency were accountable, at least to the elected representatives of Canada, I would not feel so bad but it will operate at arm's length, virtually like a crown corporation. There is not accountability. It can intrude in Canadian lives all over the place and nobody will be able to ask the minister what is going on because it will be set aside. It will be like Canada Post.
Has anyone ever tried to find out what Canada Post does to wrecked letters or why the mail is not delivered? It is almost impossible.
This provision is something we should be waving some flags about. If the government is going to go ahead with this new revenue agency, it must have some real transparency and accountability to parliament and the elected representatives of the people of Canada.
I have a whole host of other items but I am running out of time. I will close by saying that we are not going to support this bill. We have too many concerns about it. I would not say that there is nothing good in it. There is obviously something good in any budget. There are a number of positive initiatives but overall it misses the mark. It does not reflect the views and concerns of Canadians. And frankly, I do not want a whole country run by a dictator called Paul Martin.