Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to address the budget tabled on February 16 by the hon. Minister of Finance.
I begin by congratulating the hon. minister on his sixth budget. This is a budget that once again confirms that the era of deficit financing is over. This is the second year in a row for a balanced budget. The minister should be particularly proud of his accomplishment given that this has not been done since 1951-52. The Minister of Finance also deserves credit for listening to Canadians and for his strong leadership on this issue.
This budget incorporates many suggestions made by constituents from my riding of Cambridge who are members of my community advisory council. In particular, the minister has listened to their suggestions about how to address the health care crisis, the need for greater accountability in health care and the need for tax relief.
When the Liberal government took office in 1993, we inherited a $42 billion deficit and in just four years we had moved to a $3.5 billion surplus. Today with another surplus we are starting to see the results of the deficit battle and we are working to improve the quality of life for all Canadians in three key areas, health care, knowledge and innovation, and tax relief.
The first and the largest investment, I should say reinvestment, is in our health care system. Medicare is one of our most cherished social programs. It guarantees to all Canadians regardless of their financial means equal access to high quality care services based on need, not ability to pay.
As members of my community advisory council have told me, the number one priority of our health care system should be to heal people. In order to do that it is vital that we identify priorities and spend resources responsibly. That is why this budget announced that the provinces and territories will receive $11.5 billion. There will be a $3.5 billion immediate one time supplement with a remaining $8 billion to be provided over the next four years. This is an investment to help provinces, and communities like Cambridge, deal with immediate health care concerns, waiting lists, crowded emergency rooms and diagnostic services.
The commitment to strengthen health care does not end there. The 1999 budget also announced that the government would further invest about $1.4 billion in health information systems, research, first nations and Inuit health services, and health problem prevention.
Of course good health and effective health care are much more than an issue of hospitals and clinics. Canadians want and deserve to know how their health care dollars are being spent and with what results. They want more accountability. This budget will help to deliver that by investing nearly $330 million in health information initiatives such as building a national health surveillance network to electronically link laboratories and public health offices across the country; by establishing a Canada health network, accessible by computer and telephone; and by providing better reports on the health of Canadians and the functioning of the health system.
Further, this budget invests $287 million to improve efforts to prevent health problems from occurring. These initiatives include: the Canada prenatal nutrition program; modernizing and strengthening the federal food safety program; improving the management and control of toxic substances in the environment, in food and in drinking water; continuing to explore innovative approaches in the area of rural and community health; and combating diabetes.
This budget also makes a significant $550 million cash infusion into funding for health research and innovation.
I have already outlined the government's significant investment in health and medical research. The budget also takes additional steps to promote knowledge and innovation with a $1.8 billion investment over this fiscal year and the next three years. Included in this $1.8 billion will be an additional $200 million for the Canada Foundation for Innovation to support world class research infrastructure in the areas of health, the environment, science and engineering; $60 million to establish one smart community demonstration project in each province; $60 million for the GeoConnections initiative; and an additional $90 million for the networks of centres of excellence.
The final two elements of this budget's investment in knowledge and innovation are especially relevant to many businesses in my riding of Cambridge. This government understands the benefits of investing in knowledge and innovation.
The third most important element of the 1999 budget is tax relief. Our government is committed to substantially reducing taxes as and when we can and in the fairest way possible. This budget proves that. However, we must not forget that for tax relief to be permanent, it must be affordable and not jeopardize the soundness of Canada's finances. As resources become available, the government will provide as much tax relief as possible. This will occur year after year with each budget building on the progress made this year and the years before. This is the responsible way.
Canada is doing well. We are deficit free. Our unemployment rate while still too high at 7.8% is the lowest it has been since 1990. We are outpacing the rate of job creation in any other G-7 country: 368,000 jobs in 1997 and 453,000 in 1998 and there are additional measures in this budget that will continue this trend.
We are staying the course. We are investing in key national priorities such as health care, job creation and tax relief. We are continuing to pay down our national debt. We are providing a balanced approach to government and fiscal management and Canadians are starting to see the results.