Mr. Speaker, I will be dividing my time with the member for Algoma--Manitoulin.
Indeed, it is a pleasure today to rise and speak on the budget. At times, I suppose, we sit here and listen to the debate back and forth and wonder if money alone could solve all of these problems. I think it is clear that each one of us has our own priorities. As parties, of course, we establish these priorities as part of the party system, and as we look at what we would like to see they obviously reflect the priorities we have established from our party base.
The values and vision espoused in the budget have in fact been significantly impacted as a result of September 11, but I think the budget properly adjusts to those events and proceeds in a way that I think is showing a good and solid future vision for the government.
Like the member for Winnipeg South, I want to look at some of the infrastructure that the budget affects and how it may affect us in the future. I would like to address this matter by looking at my riding as a microcosm. I would like to focus on an area that is research, innovation and technology, which was an interest of mine when I was elected in November 2000 and has continued to be since then.
When I first appeared in the House and made my maiden speech about a year ago, I announced as part of it that I was starting a research, innovation and technology committee to give me advice on how we should chart the course for the technology related sector within my riding. In its conclusions and recommendations to me, the research, innovation and technology committee indicated that there was a great and significant need for technological infrastructure within my riding. Urban areas even within my riding are far ahead of the rural neighbours, and of course they are absolutely miles behind the major metropolitan areas.
In the new economy that we are already entering upon, we have come to rely on the broadband communications for everything from banking to health care. It is vital that the Government of Canada show its commitment to ensuring that all areas of our country have adequate access to this fundamental resource. Broadband sources such as fibre optic cabling can be compared to our quest to link this country with the railroad. Then, of course, we required the ability to transfer goods efficiently across this great country. Now, in our global economy of today, we require that same ability, but instead of the rails and ties of yesterday we have the bits and bytes of today.
In the last election we went to the people of the country and made a pledge to them that we would focus on creating a smart Canada, a country that has innovation and education as part of its primary resources. We pledged to make Canada a top five leader in research and innovation by the year 2010.
To this end, we must harness the power of the information age. We must provide access to the Internet and all of its associated information technologies. The information age does not apply just to those who live in major urban centres. Canadians from coast to coast need that access. If we are to truly promote knowledge and reward innovation, then we must take steps to foster growth within this important sector of our economy to ensure the long term viability of our country in this new economy.
My committee also acknowledged that as long as rural Canada does not have adequate access to broadband communications and those assorted tools that go with it, we will have great difficulty in attracting new business to our regions. Even for things so simple as the promotion of our regions through online databases of our economic resources, such as the availability of land or space for new location of facilities, these have all been compiled and are conveyed through our online resources.
This technology infrastructure is a must if we intend to compete in that new economy. The Internet of today is not just another research tool.
As I look at my rural riding I see health care as a primary example of where broadband communications are needed so desperately. In Northumberland, we have access to numerous health care facilities, fine health care facilities. However, they are not yet able to reach their full potential of information sharing. With the electronic files now being produced by the CAT scan and the MRI, doctors have the ability to view and manipulate the various files that are produced, but in fact without the proper means of transmission of those files from place to place, really they have to find a physical way to attend at these various facilities in order to properly diagnose and give advice.
This is a classic case of a bottleneck in the system. The specialist has to physically travel to view those files at the various hospitals. With a shortage of those people who read those files, broadband communications is something that could be very helpful, not only to the health and welfare of those rural Canadians but to allow us to get proper service to our health care system in an efficient way.
I am pleased to see that in this budget there is a continuing commitment from the Government of Canada in the area of strategic infrastructure. With the Strategic Infrastructure Foundation, we should have the ability to look at this for some of these major infrastructure projects. I do not think we can look at this as simply being available only for highways, urban transport and sewage treatment. I think we can look at it in the broader context of all our technological infrastructure needs.
At this point so many communities in rural Canada are starting to have some fibre optic cable running through them, but the catch is to try to figure out a way to connect to that fibre optic cable. The government is now looking at private and public sector partnerships to ensure that these rural communities will have the ability to harness this power inherent within the Internet and broadband communications.
So how do rural areas like my riding move forward? How do we push down these barriers? How do we get ready for this new economy and promote ourselves for this new investment? On the local level, of course, we have a strategy that is used for attracting and sustaining diverse businesses, but I think we have to use technology and work more with technology to enhance and improve our way of life in rural areas, particularly as it applies to health care, continuing education and other key sectors.
It is important that the views of the rural communities such as mine in Northumberland are brought forward and heard. The guidance and leadership from our government as demonstrated by this budget is an imperative for rural Canada. There is only so much time for rural communities to become competitive in the new economy and our government must continue to expand our ability to assist communities in getting up to speed.
With this budget, I believe we are taking another step forward with the creation of this Strategic Infrastructure Foundation. Within our government we always have to be looking forward. I call upon our government to take another positive step by putting together working groups within our communities to examine the issues of broadband technology, not only in the cities but in the rural areas, for I think it is through this means that we will be able to interconnect this country and reap the benefits therefrom.
People in rural communities such as my riding are looking forward to leadership from us. This is an important issue. The budget has given us the vision and has given support but we need to do more. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House in the coming months to continue to advance this issue, to work with the stakeholders in ensuring that the needs of rural Canadians will be met as we look at creating a more innovative country.