Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to participate in the debate on the budget implementation bill. We have had substantive interventions by members on all sides of the House about many of the elements of the budget.
Members have reminded us of the implications of September 11 and the importance of having a budget that would provide a security foundation for Canada. An amount of $6.5 billion has been earmarked for policing, intelligence, airline and airport safety and security, emergency preparedness and military deployment, all of which are emerging developments on a daily basis.
Much of the discussion has been with regard to income taxation, particularly tax cuts. Members will know that we already introduced a five year income tax plan of $100 billion. Additional cuts set in the five year plan would come into effect with this budget so that Canadians could see that each and every year their income tax burden would be going down.
It would include elements not only in reductions of rates of tax but would also include the benefits of the reindexation of the Income Tax Act. This means that various credits and other matters within the Income Tax Act would be indexed to inflation allowing Canadians to continue to reap the benefits of the difficult times we went through and the cutbacks that were necessary to ensure that we could get our fiscal house in order.
It is notable that Canada has experienced five years in a row of balanced budgets. We managed to pay down substantial amounts of debt. There is a commitment by the finance minister, who continues to provide projections for Canadians on a rolling basis, to again balance the budget for the next two years. That is good news for all Canadians.
Health continues to be the number one priority for Canadians. On Wednesday we received from the hon. Roy Romanow the interim report of the state of Canada's health care system. It is my hope that Canadians will comment and provide their input to that special commission on the important elements of the health care system. We need to address the delivering of the kind of health care system that Canadians have earned and deserve.
I encourage Canadians who are interested to contact their member of parliament to receive a copy of the Romanow report. There is a website where information can be requested and input can be provided directly over the Internet. That is very helpful for Canadians.
The budget included an infrastructure program of $2 billion. Infrastructure has always been an important part of renewing our economy. I creates jobs making sure that critical infrastructure is in place. It has benefited every region across the country and I was pleased that the item was still there.
One of the areas I want to talk about in a little more detail and which seems to come up often is the whole issue of the Canada pension plan. A number of members have raised the fact that notwithstanding cuts in income tax rates CPP premiums have gone up. We have reindexed various tax credits, increased child tax benefits which are not taxable, and we have put dollars into the hands of Canadian families each and every month to assist in dealing with the exceptional cost of raising healthy, well adjusted children in Canada. I want to amplify a bit as to why Canada pension plan premiums have increased.
First, people have suggested the Canada pension plan system is not financially stable. Back in 1997 the Canada pension plan system had some big choices to make. At the time we had five workers for every one retiree. Each of those retirees was receiving about $8 for every $1 they put in. That was sustainable at that point. As our society ages, as the baby boomers move through the system, they will start to retire. We will see that five workers for every one pensioner reduced down to about three workers for each pensioner. That means that more support has to be put into the Canada pension plan system to ensure that Canadians will have the security of having their pension benefits when they retire.
Canadians should know that the Canada pension plan system is under the auspices of not just by the federal government. The provincial governments are also responsible for the planning and strategic operation of the pension system. All the benefits and changes, whether it be the premiums, et cetera, have to be approved on the basis of the agreements among the provinces and the federal government. Canadians should know that all our elected leaders across the country, representing all regional national interests, work to ensure the Canada pension plan system remains on a stable footing.
I also point out that there seems to be a lack of knowledge on behalf of some as to what exactly the Canada pension plan system does. Not only will we receive the obvious pension retirement benefits when we reach retirement age, we will also have a number of other elements which are quite costly but I think are important to Canadians.
For instance, should a pensioner pass on there are survivor benefits so a spouse can receive additional support. There is a death benefit under the Canadian pension plan system to the estate of the deceased person. Also a death benefit is payable to any dependent children, which also recognizes the benefit earned in the plan.
Probably the most important element of non-pension benefits of the Canada pension plan, which is quite expensive but quite valuable to Canadians, is the disability benefit. If self-employed people do not have a long term or a short term disability plan but have earned income and paid into the Canada pension plan like any other working Canadian, a disability plan provides benefits to the disabled workers which would be more than they would ultimately get if they were retired and receiving a pension. This is an important security or underpinning for Canadians.
Many Canadians are injured on the job or develop long term illnesses or diseases and are unable to earn incomes to take care of their families. This element of the Canada pension plan system enables them to have that protection, but it is quite expensive. The number of Canadians drawing on the pension disability benefits continues to grow but it is important to sustain.
Those members who have raised the point that while we have had tax reductions in a number of ways, those are offset to some extent by Canada pension plan premium increases are quite correct. However it should be clear to all now that Canada pension plan premium increases are there to ensure that not only will Canadians continue to enjoy the generous benefits out of the Canada pension plan, but that they will also have the protection of long term disability which cares for the families of many Canadians.