Mr. Speaker, it is actually quite interesting to listen to the cries of great indignation from members opposite. The left side of the spectrum does not suggest anything in the form of a positive debate in relationship to the air security charge. It just simply criticizes without putting forward some substantive alternatives. I have not heard anyone give an alternative.
I think we all know we are here tonight debating amendments to the budget bill that was introduced several months ago. We now find ourselves in a position where we have to vote on amendments that do absolutely nothing other than stall, delay and allow members opposite to get up and tell people about issues that have no relationship whatsoever to the budget bill.
Do we want a delay? A debate in parliament would be interesting if we focused on the issue instead of the government being put in a position where, to actually implement changes to the budget, the savings to the taxpayer and the reduction in taxation to Canadians, we have no alternative but to introduce time allocation.
Why would that be? One would think that the members opposite would want the government to get on with a bill that introduces dramatic savings for the taxpayer. As an example of that savings, a two earner family of four with an income of $60,000 would save $1,000 in federal taxes this year. That is a reduction of 18%.
Am I being told in this place that people on the opposite side do not want taxpayers to get those savings? A one earner family of four earning $40,000 would pay $1,100 less in taxes and by 2004 this family would pay almost $2,000 less in tax, a 59% reduction in the amount of taxation that those hard-working Canadians would have to pay.
What we hear from colleagues opposite is just constant criticism instead of getting on with the implementation of a budget bill that would return money directly into the pockets of Canadians.
While we are on the issue of taxation, let me suggest that there is more than one way to reduce the tax burden or expense burden on hard-working Canadians.
Interest rates, for example, were reduced by about 3.5% last year. A reduction of 3.5% means quite a lot to a family seeking a mortgage of $100,000. A one hundred thousand dollar mortgage in my community does not buy much, but in many parts of the country it does. The annual mortgage payments on a $100,000 as a result of the reduction in the interest rates, which are clearly a result of the sound fiscal policies that this finance minister and the government have implemented over the past several years, will cost $2,200 less to carry than it would have one year ago.
Is that a tax reduction? No, not directly, but it sure makes a heck of a difference to a couple raising a family and trying to buy a home. To a small business, a loan of $250,000 will cost $9,000 a year less than it would have cost one year ago. Is that a direct tax reduction? Obviously it is not. However, on the cashflow and the bottom line of that small business or on the monthly budgeting of that family trying to buy their first home, these are real hard savings. This is money in their pockets.
We are debating whether or not there should be an air security charge instead of getting on with returning to hard working Canadians the money that they have earned and are paying in high interest rates, high carrying costs or taxes. As I say, there is more than one way to skin that particular cat.
I hear members opposite say that only Liberals can make this draconian budget, as they refer to it, sound good. Let me share some of the benefits that have come about as a result of the budget.
There is $24 million over two years to support sector councils. A sector council is a group of people from business and labour. They have been put together to deliver training programs on the ground to people who are working but are seeking to upgrade their skills or people who are trying to enter the job force, be it through an apprenticeship program, through organized labour or a community college.
These sector councils have been created in the province of Ontario, for example, because the federal government has been unable to enter into a labour market development agreement with the province. Obviously it is the largest province and the one with the greatest need for this kind of training and skills development, yet we have been unable to get an agreement from the Government of Ontario. We had to find an alternative way of ensuring that the training dollars actually get to the men and women who need them. The sector councils are a good way of doing that.
There have been concerns expressed in some areas that those sector councils are not totally funneling the training money to the union halls and places where some of the training takes place. That is a concern but it is not a budget concern or a concern for this particular debate. It is something we need to work out with HRDC, the province of Ontario and the sector councils.
Another item in the budget is a $10 million a year increase to improve support for persons with disabilities who pursue higher education. A member opposite rails against the government because of our treatment of people with disabilities. There is a clear commitment to people with disabilities in the form of tax breaks. We should get on with implementing the bill so that the money can flow to the people who need it.
There is $15 million a year to encourage the acquisition of trade skills. As my youngest son is currently studying to become a carpenter and is working with the carpenters union in the greater Toronto area, I think this is incredibly important.
The immigration committee deals with the issue of the types of people we want as new immigrants. One of the suggestions I have made is that a skilled tradesperson should be treated the same as a university graduate. In determining their eligibility to come to this country, people in the trades who have bona fide certificates saying they are pipefitters, steamfitters, carpenters, electricians and on down the list should get the same number of points as people who have bachelor of arts degrees. I am confident that is going to happen.
Something which has not been given a lot of attention in terms of the budget is that $13.5 million has been put in place to help young entrepreneurs. Through the Shad Valley program for kids going on to university and through the Canadian Youth Business Foundation dollars will be matched to create a pool of $26 million that will be made available for start up costs. This will help young Canadian entrepreneurs fulfill the dreams many of them have about building their own businesses.
On balance, the budget clearly sets out a direction that is positive for the economy and positive for all Canadians. Members opposite know it but they just will not admit it.