Mr. Speaker, last evening I was with my family as we watched the special two hour program commemorating the tragic events of September 11. For all Canadians and in fact for all those who value and respect the democratic system and the safe countries we have, that program reminded us why it is so important to have security in our nation and in all democratic nations.
That is why this is predominantly a security budget. If September 11 had not occurred, clearly there would have been resources to dedicate to many of the issues that members of parliament would like to see the government provide for the people of Canada, but the agenda was basically set.
I have often talked about families in the House. There is a saying I have used often and that is that strong families make a strong country. I want to reflect a little on what makes strong families. For me the measure of the strength of a country really is the measure of the health and well-being of its people.
I want to look at the budget and determine how this budget is addressing the health and well-being of Canadians. First, on the security issue, which this budget has as a predominant theme, there was no question that we had to address the security deficiencies we saw given the events of September 11. Within that budget there is $2.2 billion related to air travel safety. We know how important that is.
As a member of the transport committee, I took the opportunity to visit with other colleagues of the House and our American counterparts and look at what they were doing. We came forward with a report. Much of it is reflected in the provisions being proposed in the budget and I am very pleased about that. We did our job and the Minister of Transport listened to the report. We have important initiatives to ensure airline and airport safety.
Just to give members an idea of the impact of September 11, the United States passed legislation in November. The U.S. wanted to do that before its Thanksgiving week. Thanksgiving in the United States is the single largest travel period for Americans. Our American counterparts passed the legislation, which incorporated virtually every possible initiative they could think of, including training flight attendants in the martial arts to defend themselves.
It did pass, it was put in and people were assured that the provisions were there to ensure safety. The government wanted to get people travelling again. What was the result? Only 80% of the planes were actually flying during that Thanksgiving week and of those planes only 80% of the capacity was utilized. That means basically that only about two-thirds of the airline capacity of the United States was actually utilized during the biggest week of travel for Americans. It had an enormous impact on their economy. It demonstrated not only to Americans but to Canadians as well how important it was that we put in a security package that would help to restore the confidence of the travelling public, because we depend so very heavily on that, not only for personal travel but for commerce.
In fact, of our exports, 75% goes from Canada to the United States. It was important to deal with security issues at the border. It was important to deal with security issues at airports and with airlines. It was important to deal with intelligence, policing and emergency preparedness. The point of this is that a country that does not have security cannot have sovereignty. That is what it comes down to. We need a sovereign country and we need a strong security system to ensure that safety and that security for the families of Canada who make this such a strong country.
What else does the budget do for families? Obviously income taxation is an opportunity for us. As members know, the government has a $100 billion tax cut plan. It is fully protected and we are proceeding ahead so that Canadians will see, as they will when they do their tax returns, that their refundable and non-refundable credits have been indexed and that all the other provisions in the income tax return have now been indexed. As well, the effective rates of taxation have gone down. It means that Canadians in fact have more money as a result of reduced taxation and that will continue.
We also have our $23.4 billion support program for health and early childhood development. The government has been working very carefully and diligently with the provinces and the territories to ensure that our children, who are our future, are taken care of. We must have the kinds of programs that take into account the fact that, hard as it is to believe, 25% of children enter adult life with significant mental, social and behavioural problems. This is a very large number. It is why the Government of Canada has invested so heavily over all these years in our health system and in early childhood development issues: to make sure that our children have a chance to grow up and develop into healthy, well adjusted, contributing citizens of our country. That is another aspect of what we are doing for the family.
Obviously families are stronger when family members have jobs, yet for people to have jobs there has to be a strong economy. It means that we have to invest in areas where we can stimulate economic activity, areas such as the infrastructure program. There is the $2 billion strategic infrastructure program and the $600 million for highways announced in the year 2000 budget. These kinds of initiatives reflected in this budget are important.
We have also had tax incentives for small businesses to ensure that they, the creators of most of the jobs in Canada, are getting the assistance and support they need, such as the cashflow assistance through the changes introduced in the budget. This will ensure that they can be strong and create jobs for the families of Canada.
Further on the health front, there is the arrangement that was negotiated by the Government of Canada with the provinces to ensure that there is appropriate funding for health care. It is very important that our health care system be there if and when we need it. It is not a health care system for anyone other than those who need it. It is not a matter of whether a person has money. It is a matter of whether a person needs our health care system and we are dedicated to that.
Also in the budget are certain initiatives with regard to new skills, particularly Canadian study grants for students with disabilities and initiatives for youth entrepreneurship, which the member for Mississauga West championed right across Canada, consulting with young people and businesses to find out how the government can help young entrepreneurs get the start that they need so they can have these kinds of jobs. Again, this is another way to help strengthen the family.
There is also the amount of dollars invested in research. The research and innovation file has been a very significant part of the overall initiatives to ensure that we have leading technology, that we have the kind of investment in leading edge technologies such that Canada is in fact a leader. Those are important aspects. Not only do they help stimulate jobs in that sector, but to the extent that Canada has these new technologies and that we have the expertise there, we create new jobs, new industry and new opportunities for people, again helping people have jobs through a strong economy.
As well, on the environment the government wants to make sure that we can do everything possible to ensure that there is a healthy environment for Canadians. My constituents have told me that air and water quality issues are very important. They want to see the government take important steps toward ensuring that we are protecting our natural resources, our air and our water, to ensure that our families have a safe, secure and healthy environment in which to live.
These are but some of the elements that we have incorporated in this budget, not only in this budget, but building on previous budgets, and I am confident that the government will continue to build on this important legacy.