Mr. Speaker, I wish to share my time with the member for Ancaster--Dundas--Flamborough--Aldershot which is probably the longest name for a riding I have ever heard.
Opposition parties in the debate today are suggesting a number of measures which we should put in our budget to be delivered in the House next week. Needless to say, it would not be a wise move on my part to try to scoop the Minister of Finance, but let me say that we have initiated one of the most consultative processes for budget making that the world has ever seen by having the finance committee of the House of Commons travel to every corner of Canada to listen to Canadians in their home towns and here in Ottawa. By doing this, the making of a budget is no longer restricted to only those who have privileged access to the inner sanctums. This is a great innovation and one which does make for democratic, productive budget making.
If what we have seen in the past is any guide as to what might be in next Monday's budget, perhaps we could look at what we have done. We have to look at where we are today in the context of a global economic slowdown and that slowdown was exacerbated by the tragic events of September 11.
We know we are in an economic downturn, but most economists are predicting that we will come out of this downturn next year, perhaps in the second half and will have good growth the year following that. We do not like this slowdown but we have had 10 years of good growth and there are economic cycles which hit us. This one unfortunately was exacerbated by the tragic events of September 11.
What measures have we taken in the past that are assisting us through this challenging period? We have managed our economy and our fiscal policy in such a way that we have kept inflationary pressures down and the Bank of Canada has been able to make major cuts in our interest rates, which is very stimulative. Today in spite of these major cuts, we see an inflation rate at 1.9%, midway in our monetary band. In addition, since we have been in surplus we have been able to make major tax cuts. In terms of personal income taxes, it is 27% and 35% for families with children.
Looking at what the government has done in terms of corporate taxes, it has made major cuts which, when they are fully implemented combined with the provinces in a couple of years, will give a company in Ontario or Alberta a top corporate tax rate of 30%. I ask members to compare that to the rates in the United States, for example, 36% in Michigan, 40% in New York and 41% in California. That is the type of competitive edge our corporations and entrepreneurs are getting. That is why we have seen profit centers for North America shift to Canada.
In terms of debt, we have been able to go from a high of 71% of GDP down to less than 50% today. We have made major debt paydowns of over $35 billion which have saved the Government of Canada $2.5 billion a year in interest costs alone.
At the same time, we have not been a one track party. We have been able to make major strategic investments in health care, innovation, research and development, and infrastructure. Look at our last infrastructure program of $2 billion mainly for green projects and $600 million of that going toward highway infrastructure, which will leverage to at least three times that when the provinces, municipalities and the private sector participate.
What type of stimulus have we created that is going to see us, and is seeing us, through these challenging times and which will help our economy with the rebound that will surely come next year?
Our tax cuts this year alone amount to a stimulus of over $17 billion. In addition, we have made strategic investments, for example, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation; Genome Canada; the Atlantic investment partnership; increased equalization; increased transfers for health care. Those increases amount to an added $7 billion of stimulus.
Then we look at what our monetary policy has done. The interest rate cuts that we have been able to bring about this year without causing inflation are estimated by the chief economist for Merrill Lynch Canada to have produced savings on consumer debt in Canada of $7 billion this year and to mortgagors in Canada savings of another $4 billion this year. When we look at the total stimulation that we have put into the economy this year, $17 billion in tax cuts, $7 billion in strategic investments, and accepting what Merrill Lynch said, another $11 billion in savings to consumers and to mortgage holders, there is a stimulus of $35 billion, well over 3% of GDP.
How have we done it? We have done it through measures which are sustainable because we are balancing, and have balanced, our budgets. We have done this by a very difficult process of controlling spending.
When we took office our spending was at 16.2% of GDP. At the end of last year it was at 11.3% of GDP. Any new expenditures we have made this year have been mainly in the areas of health care and security measures.
The budget is certainly going to be one of the most difficult the minister has ever had to make. It is much easier to have an economic blueprint when the global economy is expanding and when revenues are going up.The one thing I promise, apart from a very balanced and responsible, fiscally prudent budget, is that it will give a full, fair and realistic accounting. It will clearly spell out the steps we have taken and the steps we will take to ensure that we have a strong, prosperous future.
The tragic events of September 11 challenge all of us, but I assure everyone that the government will rise to those challenges.