Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a few comments following those of the parliamentary secretary. She wondered why we could not trust the government with this bill. We could provide a long list of why we cannot trust the government.
We could look at what the Prime Minister said when he came to Beauséjour to get elected in the riding that I represent, which was once the safest Liberal seat in the country. He promised seasonal workers that he would make the UI program better for them, to better reflect their needs. When he came back to Ottawa he actually said everybody was drunk in taverns collecting UI.
Then they were to scrap the GST. We all remember that. What happened was that in New Brunswick we ended up with an extra 8% on the electric bill, on the oil bill, on children's clothing, and it goes on and on. Now we have a 15% tax on everything.
Then we have the national child care program. That was also a great promise in 1993, that we would have a national child care program, and we are still waiting for it. Yet she wonders why we cannot trust the government.
How about pay equity? There were signed letters by the Prime Minister to women who have actually passed away due to illnesses since his promise to them. They kept his letter in their desks, hoping that the Prime Minister would keep his promise and give them what was rightly theirs.
The tribunal said that these women and men, federal public servants, deserved equal pay for work of equal value. We have a Liberal government that condemned the Conservative government for not wanting to recognize that. The Liberals made promise after promise to get elected and were elected, but again they did not honour the promises.
I have no problem justifying to the parliamentary secretary why we cannot trust the government. We just cannot trust it. It will say anything to get elected, and that is what it did.
Also the parliamentary secretary mentioned decent affordable housing. What is the real definition of decent affordable housing when there are 200,000 homeless people in the country? Single parents are using 50% or more of their income to pay their rent. Low income families are doing the same. Low income seniors are using 50% of their income on housing.
The budget was brought forward in February and it showed a surplus. What did the government do with the surplus? It did not put it in health care. The government pretended to put it in health care, but it really put it on the debt. It had all the chance in the world to address the homeless situation and first nations across the country that desperately need housing. Does the government really care? It comes up with a bill, but do we really have a housing act?
I look at 200,000 people with no roofs over their heads. I look at the first nations across the country living in desperate situations. I look at poor families outside reservations living in desperate situations.
In February the Liberal government had a chance to do something about these things. What happened? It actually implemented the Reform Party's position: cut tax, reduce the debt; cut tax, reduce the debt; cut tax, reduce the debt. That is what we saw and to hell with social programs. This is what is happening. Again the poorest people in the country are suffering, and that is not right.
It is clear that the bill will not improve anything. Technically we have heard everything that is wrong with the bill. I think it is important to talk about the real issues such as what is really happening in our areas.
Every day we receive phone calls from people looking for a place to live. We have to make phone calls all over the riding trying to find places for people to live in order to be able to work. If one does not have a home, how can one hold a job? That is a serious problem.
New Brunswick is paying the lowest social assistance payments in the country to its recipients. Two single moms cannot share a house or an apartment in order to try to make life better for their kids because it is not allowed. It is not allowed because it might make their life a little easier. It is sad. These people are smart enough to get together and do something that is especially good for their children. Then they could go to school with food in their stomachs and wearing proper clothing, but the provincial government says it is not allowed.
I think everything we could say on the bill has been said. It is clear it is something we cannot support. Hopefully the government will find a conscience some day.