Mr. Speaker, I wish I could say it was a great pleasure for me to rise today to address this budget. This budget is a disaster, as every Canadian is learning. I am sure hon. members opposite will be riveted by the speech I am about to deliver. Maybe they will be quiet enough to hear it.
I start this afternoon by focusing on the beginning of the finance minister's rather lengthy budget speech: “A budget always brings its own special vocabulary. We talk in the language of rates and ratios, of percentages and decimals, of accounting methods and measures. What all this obscures is what budgets should be about. It is to make the lives of Canadians better. It is to improve their standard of living”.
What the finance minister is obscuring is that the rates, ratios and numbers do not lie. The numbers are his undoing. His accounting practices are unorthodox and are not even supported by the auditor general. The numbers show clearly that increases in payroll taxes and bracket creep have not been offset by his minuscule tax cut.
In short, this is what budgets should be all about. They should be about being straight with Canadians. They should be about telling them the whole story or, as Paul Harvey says, at least the rest of the story.
Do not take my word for it. Neville Nankivell calls this budget “a clunker, disappointing and miserly in its approach to reducing what are the highest overall taxes of any major economy”.
According to Diane Francis of the National Post : “The latest budget is a big con job designed to hoodwink Canadians into believing that health care costs are why they cannot get the dramatic tax cuts they deserve. The fact is Canadian taxes are excessive due to unbridled public spending on non-health items. Canadians are being taxed to death and this budget is insulting to taxpayers by perpetuating myths”.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business calls the budget “disappointing and a missed opportunity”.
The government is spending a lot of money advertising this budget, as my colleague just pointed out, but it is not being straight with Canadians. My constituents voted to re-elect me because I call them as I see them. I would like to clarify for Canadians facts and fiction, or the myths and realities of this budget.
The finance minister made choices in his budget and the consequences of those choices need to be explained to Canadian families.
Myth number one is that the Liberals have not increased taxes. In fact, we are to believe we just got a tax cut. Unfortunately even Canadian Airlines is perpetuating this myth.
Reality number one is that Canadian taxpayers will pay $2,020 more in taxes in 1999 than they did in 1993. That is $42 billion more, 42 thousand million dollars more. That is a tax hike of 34%, the highest tax increase in the world. That is the reality.
That is a five year period but even if a comparison with 1999 to last year is made, Canadians will still be paying more in taxes due to mammoth increases in CPP premiums and of course because of bracket creep.
Myth number two is that Canadians' taxes are higher in order to pay for universal health care. Reality number two is the latest OECD health data report reveals that the United States spends 90% more on each citizen on public health care than Canada does. Even with the so-called reinvestment in health care, Canadians are getting $4.3 billion less in health care spending from these Liberals.
When we take health care spending out of the picture Canadian taxes are double the rate of the Americans. The reality is that health care has nothing to do with the exorbitant taxes being charged by this bunch of Liberals across the way.
We have to love myth number three, that excessive taxes do not harm Canadian businesses or the economy. Just ask the industry minister. According to him, high taxes are good for business. Reality number three is Canada's taxes are double that of the U.S. and, surprise, our unemployment rate is nearly double that of the United States. Coincidence? I think not. Payroll taxes and user fees have taxed small businesses, the engine of job creation, out of prosperity into a daily struggle just to survive.
One small example of this government's lame brain policies is the recent change to T-4 slips. It used to fit four forms on a page which could be sent out in a standard letter sized envelope. The geniuses at Revenue Canada decided to change that format. Now only three forms fit to a page and due to their new and improved size, they require larger envelopes. Members are probably saying big deal, so they need new envelopes. The postage for these new envelopes is 90 cents instead of the 46 cents it cost for the old form. That is just one small example of how this government nickels and dimes small business people.
Myth number four is that the finance minister says his budget will give substantial tax relief to low income Canadians, in fact it will more than cover bracket creep for all Canadians. Reality number four is the minuscule tax cut given to low income Canadians is only half the amount of money they would receive if the finance minister would index personal income taxes. In 1980 a person making $10,505 paid no income tax. Now that same person pays taxes on only $6,496. Britain does not start taxing until $9,000 and the U.S. not until $9,500. No wonder our best and brightest are fleeing the country. Is there a pattern developing with this?
Myth number five is that the Liberals have been prudent—they love that word—and have balanced the budget by cutting costs and responsible priorizing. Reality number five is the single largest expenditure in this budget is interest on the national debt, which has grown by over $130 billion since 1993. The Liberals reduced 70% of the deficit by raising taxes while only cutting costs by 2%. The finance minister also got a break from lower international interest rates. The reality is this budget was balanced by charging Canadians more taxes and giving them less in return. That is neither prudent nor responsible. It is shameful.
Myth number six is that Canadians are better off today than they were before the Liberals took over in 1993. Reality number six is Canadians are worse off today than they were in 1993. I take no joy in saying that. There is no victory for the official opposition in that statement. This government has failed Canadians. It uses smoke and mirrors to manipulate the truth so Canadians will feel better about themselves and blindly spend more money so government revenues will climb even higher.
The numbers the finance minister says obscure what is important about a budget are all that is important about a budget. I will list them so members can see for themselves why the finance minister wants to avoid them. Canadians are paying $900 million more in income tax through bracket creep. Canadians are paying $1.14 billion more in CPP premiums just to receive less in benefits when they retire; in simpler terms, paying more, getting less. Canadians are paying $42 billion more in taxes in 1999 than they were in 1993.
The national debt has risen by $130 billion since 1993. Balanced budgets are the result of excessive tax hikes and onerous cost recovery schemes. Canadians are receiving $4.3 billion less in federal health care in 1999 than in 1993; paying more, getting less.
This budget was supposed to make the lives of Canadians better. It was supposed to increase their standard of living. These are the finance minister's own words so he must admit that he has failed, for Canadians are being forced to pay more and get less. We pay more taxes and get less health care. This is obviously reversed.
I quote once again Diane Francis who hits the nail right on the head, despite the cries of protest from the other side, when she says: “Ottawa should be forced to work backward. Taxpayers should demand back the billions Ottawa has over collected since 1993 in the form of pro rata tax cuts, to repay the unfair deindexing in an era of non inflation. After all, working backward while paying for essentials is exactly how Canadian households and business must conduct their financial affairs. Canadians struggle to pay escalating taxes, rents, food and other expenses. Why hasn't Ottawa ever suffered? Because it does not have to. That's why this budget is a national insult”.
