Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to join in the debate on the 1999 budget. I will be sharing my time with one of my colleagues, the member for Mississauga South.
I congratulate the hon. Minister of Finance for putting forward a budget that addresses the needs of Canadians. This is a budget we can all be proud of. Today I will use my time to speak briefly to three themes in the budget. I want to make sure my constituents who are watching this debate get some facts directly from the budget. I will address the issues of health care, knowledge, innovation and tax relief as outlined in the budget.
I believe the support of strategies to enhance quality health care for Canadians and the support to families and individuals in our tax system are essential for the growth of Etobicoke—Lakeshore and for all communities across the country.
Budget '99 is not an end in itself. It is a continuation of the federal government's commitment to building a strong, secure future for all Canadians. My constituents are pleased with budget '99 and agree that the government has taken yet another step in the right direction.
Over the past year my constituents have been saying to me that they would like to see the budget surplus used for deficit reduction, health, research and development, and tax relief among other things. In my consultations with them, those were the issues that kept coming to the top.
With the budget the federal government has delivered on their priorities without borrowing a single penny. I was pleased to share that with my constituents. Despite new investments in social and economic priorities, the federal government has not swerved in staying the course in sustaining sound fiscal management. This is what all of us in the House want our government to do.
In 1993 when the government took office the budgetary deficit stood at $42 billion. The state of Canada's fiscal house was in poor shape. The federal government had a major task in balancing the books and restoring the confidence of Canadians in our economy.
My constituents were concerned. The phone calls and the round table discussions we held all expressed their concern about the deficit. In 1998, when we delivered a budget that eliminated the deficit and balanced the books for the first time in 28 years, we were pleased and proud to share that with every individual who sat around the table and moaned with us about the $42 billion deficit we were in.
Today the policy of sound, prudent fiscal management pursued by the federal government has put our economy on the right track for the benefit of all Canadians.
Budget '99 continues the course. It continues to build on this comprehensive plan for creating a strong economy and a secure society. On this side of the House we believe that our young people deserve to inherit a country that is fiscally robust and capable of meeting the challenges of the next century. As we head into that next century the fiscal outlook of Canada is positive.
As we listened to our finance minister on budget day, all Canadians got the sense of renewed optimism about the economic viability of our country. In budget '99 the federal government will again balance our books. For the first time since 1951-52, the government has been deficit free for two consecutive years. The federal government will remain committed. We heard our Minister of Finance speak to this.
The 1999-2000 budget and the 2000-01 budget are again recording consecutive balanced budgets. The fiscal policy of the government continues to put the debt to GDP ratio on a permanent downward track. Again, this pleased my constituents. This is of tremendous significance to them simply because balanced budgets and a decline in the debt to GDP ratio means that the government can free up resources to strengthen our health care system, provide tax relief, invest in a more productive economy and a higher standard of living by promoting access to knowledge, research and innovation.
Budget '99 also preserved our health care system by securing high quality, equitable health care for all Canadians. The budget sets us on a course that speaks to the highest possible quality of health care and other tools that will make healthy lifestyles and healthy lives.
The health agreement reached in last month's first ministers conference and the new social union framework shows Canadians that the federal and provincial governments will pursue a common vision that puts health and quality of life first. We know that the prosperity of any nation depends on the health of its citizens. It has a direct bearing on how well Canada is situated in the global economy and ultimately the future of our country.
In budget '99 the federal government reaffirmed to all Canadians that sustaining and strengthening health care is one of its key priorities. My constituents know the total number is $11.5 billion and they are very much aware of the $3.5 billion that will be provided immediately as a one time supplement which the provinces will have the flexibility to draw upon according to their needs and priorities. In the province of Ontario we know the importance of that immediate $3.5 billion and what it will create for us.
In the weeks leading up to the budget, my constituents asked me over and over to ensure that the federal government addressed the problems of crowded emergency rooms, long waiting lists, shortage of diagnostic services, et cetera. As the media portrayed the upcoming budget as a health budget, there was more and more anxiety by constituents to ensure that these issues were addressed. This health budget is welcome news for the people of Etobicoke—Lakeshore. Ontario will also be receiving other moneys. It will receive a $4.4 billion investment in health care to encourage the government to make fundamental improvements to Ontario's health care system.
Making decisions about one's health requires one to be given the information and the tools to make positive decisions and choices. I want to ensure that my constituents understand where some of the dollars will go in terms of initiatives to enhance the flow of health information. A national health surveillance network will be built which will electronically link laboratories and public health offices across the country.
My constituents also need to know that we are establishing the Canada health network, accessible by computer and telephone and enabling Canadians everywhere to have direct access to objective, reliable, up to date information on a range of health issues and providing better reports on the health of Canadians and the functioning of the health system. Those initiatives are consistent with the government's commitment on health and are a concrete step to strengthening medicare.
Budget '99 takes action on many fronts. It builds on the Canadian opportunities strategy by investing more than $1.8 billion over the remainder of this fiscal year and the next three years in the creation, the assimilation, the commercialization of knowledge and in support of employment.
There is just so much this budget has addressed that it would take minutes more to delineate the many positive items in this budget. I call on all of my colleagues as they debate this 1999 budget that they recognize the issues, that they recognize the measures which are in there and that they recognize the way in which this budget has addressed the concerns of Canadians.