Madam Speaker, I am sure members opposite are just waiting in anticipation to hear my answer.
First, in regard to corporate welfare, I thought I had defined it in my speech. It was the government picking certain companies within certain industries to favour with public subsidies. For an example of that, take a look at technology partnerships Canada, a program that invests millions in certain companies picked by the program. Of those so-called loans or investments, as the Minister of Industry states, 1.6% have been repaid
Can we and Canadians in the gallery see how much has been repaid? No, because we are not supposed to see the books of these companies to which the taxpayers in the gallery have lent the money. This is the example of the government giving billions and billions to certain companies in certain industries. That should be stopped, or at the very least it should be transparent and accountable.
In terms of the tax regime for the oil companies. I do not know whether he is referring to the oil sands taxing that was put together by the former natural resources minister, who is now the Minister of Health, or actually the resource tax which is now made equal to the other corporate taxes. We certainly support that. This is not corporate welfare to set up a tax regime which is equal to other corporate taxes here in Canada.
If cutting 2ยข off EI premiums counts as a long term national vision for an employment insurance program, I think the government is sadly mistaken.
It is about prioritization of spending. It is about moving money from programs like technology partnerships Canada which are clear examples of corporate welfare into other high priority areas in terms of cutting the debt, lowering taxes for all Canadians, and into areas such as health care.