Mr. Speaker, it seems like only yesterday that I gave my first speech in the House back in 1994. There was a large collection of newly elected members who came to parliament representing our various constituencies.
I remember that our caucus and the House as a whole were fixated on the economic well-being and sovereignty of our nation. We faced the toughest fiscal challenges in our history. We went from a $42 billion deficit, which represented 5.9% of the GDP, to a surplus in the last fiscal year of 1.6% of the GDP. In 1993-94 we had a debt to GDP ratio of 70%. Now it is down to 51%. We had an unemployment rate approaching 12%. Now it is under 8% across Canada and is at 6.3% in my riding.
I remember that in the first throne speech the issue of post-secondary education was not mentioned. It was at that point in time that I, along with my former colleague, John English, from Kitchener and the member for Peterborough got together to start up the post-secondary education caucus.
By having effectively addressed our fiscal reality, we have struck the right balance of investing in health care, investing in families and children, investing in protection of the environment and, most important, investing in research and innovation. We have also invested in our collective security.
As was mentioned by my colleague from Guelph, security requirements following 9/11 have driven much of this budget. One of the areas into which we have put money is immigration, $1 billion to ensure better security of people coming into the country, not just as immigrants and refugees but also the many visitors.
My riding of Kitchener--Waterloo is part of Canada's technology triangle of which the member from Guelph and the member from Cambridge are part. Among us we have three of Canada's top universities and Ontario's number one community college; the University of Guelph; Wilfrid Laurier University; the University of Waterloo, which was designated as number one in the nation; and Conestoga College, the number one college in Ontario.
The economic profile of my riding is based upon insurance, higher education, high-tech companies, many medium sized businesses and the service sector. In the area of insurance we have the head office of Clarica, Equitable Life, Lutheran Life, Economical Mutual and the Canadian headquarters of Manulife.
Since my time is limited I will focus on the importance of post-secondary education and skills training, along with research and development from the perspective of my community and Canada's technology triangle.
I want to share with the House how education benefits my community at the local level and how it contributes to our national well-being. It is our post-secondary education institutions that are the engines of growth in our community and have contributed greatly to the economic output of our local community, the province and the nation.
Let me reflect upon the visionary pioneers who invested their time and effort in starting up our post-secondary institutions that have resulted in such a great contribution to our economic and social well-being.
In 1957 the University of Waterloo started in a farmer's field. It became a book entitled Of Mud and Dreams . The first co-op engineering program was established. The pioneers who started that co-operative program were called heretics. Universities did not take a professional program such as engineering and debase it by introducing a blue collar component, such as a work term.
Co-op education which offers an academic term matched by a work term is now common practice throughout Canada and the world. The University of Waterloo, at its inception, also embraced computerization. It now has the biggest computer and mathematical faculties in the world and is world renowned.
Post-secondary education institutions are equipping Canadians with the cutting edge skills and learning that they will need to prosper. This will enable them to realize their unique potential and through a lifetime of learning to succeed in the new digital economy.
The government's record of supporting achievement in education is reflected in past budgets and in this budget. The investment in Canada education savings grants, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and increasing the education tax credit will build upon the goal of having at least one million more adults being able to take advantage of learning opportunities.
The economic spinoff from our post-secondary institutions are the heart of our economic activity. I recall how in 1994 a group of high tech companies under the umbrella of the Atlas Group first came to Ottawa and was present in the gallery watching our debates. Over 200 of these companies have spun off from these educational institutions; names such as Research In Motion, Open Text, Virtek, MKS, GFI, Dalsa, Automatic Tooling System, Skyjack, Descartes and Mitron are a few of these companies.
I remember visiting a small company with the Minister of Industry in 1994 called Research In Motion. It had less than 50 employees. Under the TPC grants, we invested some $40 million in that company. It did of course produce the world renowned BlackBerry that many members have.
The BlackBerry is carried by every member of the United States congress because it was found at the time of 9/11 that it was the only communication device that worked consistently. Today the company that we invested in through our education institutions and through our government programs has over 1,500 employees.
I mentioned RIM because obviously it is the most high profile of the success stories, but it also dramatically demonstrates how we as a nation can counter the brain drain by providing opportunities for our young people, and we do that through investment.
It is interesting that the more we invest in high tech institutions and the more we invest in education, the more we collectively secure our economic future as a nation. There is no better example than Canada's technology triangle.
As we wrap up with the budget, I would like to mention a further point that relates to immigration. We are investing a billion dollars into screening to ensure that the people who come to this country fit within the framework of our laws. This has to do with the new regulations. I know my colleagues in this caucus and in other caucuses have strong feelings about making sure those regulations will allow people with skills, blue collar workers, to come into this country.