Mr. Speaker, what I said was that this government continues to give subsidies to foreign businesses, which in our view—and there are a lot of ways to characterize them—is illegal, not that the government is committing illegal actions.
This government has no right to take any credit for balancing this budget because it did nothing. The credit goes entirely to the Canadians who have been forced to pay $2,000 more in taxes each and every year. The credit goes to those who have lingered and died on hospital waiting lists, while waiting lists have grown longer because this government slashed $20 billion out of health care over the past few years.
No, it was not the Liberal government which made tough fiscal decisions, it was Canadian families. They were the ones who were forced to priorize their spending. They were the ones who were forced to pay more for less health care.
It is high time that Canadian taxpayers received the recognition they deserve. It is high time they got the tax relief they deserve.
What does this budget offer them? Guess what? More tax increases. While this government offers $7.7 billion in tax cuts it will raise CPP premiums by $7.2 billion over the next three years. Bracket creep will take another $2.7 billion. I think it is absolutely shameful that this government tries to spin a $2.2 billion tax hike and then tells Canadians they should be grateful for that.
It comes as no surprise that Canadian families are not grateful. Why should they be grateful for a government that continues to ratchet up the tax burden faster than income growth? Why should they be grateful for a government that treats stay at home parents as second class citizens?
Let us take a family of four, with an income of $50,000, with one of those parents staying at home to raise the children. That family pays $4,000 more in taxes each year than the same family with both parents working outside the home. This government has deliberately penalized stay at home parents.
Does this budget put an end to this inequity? No.
Instead, stay at home families are treated to an insult, a slap in the face by the Secretary of State for International Financial Institutions. Instead of tax fairness we see discriminatory taxes and more shell games.
This budget reminds me of George Orwell's 1984 . In that novel the government announced that chocolate rations would be reduced from 20 grams to 10 grams. There was a second announcement the next day. There was all kinds of fanfare. The government with excitement announced it was increasing the chocolate rations from 10 grams to 15 grams. In that society citizens were brainwashed into believing that was an improvement. Canadian society is not so easily fooled. It is tired of the big brother from Shawinigan and his Liberal speak, Liberal speak like the finance minister's warning that Canadians must wait another two decades before they will see real tax relief.
I guarantee Canadians will not have to wait that long. Overburdened taxpayers do not have to wait another 20 years for something they have been demanding for decades. No, Canadians need only have to wait a year or two. Soon Canadians will take matters into their own hands in the next election. They will toss out big brother and his big taxes. They will vote for a party that is united in its resolve to give Canadians real immediate tax relief.