Mr. Speaker, certainly we have to be very cognizant, and I am sure the hon. member is, of the fact that the $100 billion five year tax cut program is still unravelling. If the member is asking whether we should continue to maintain oversight of our tax policy and ensure that we continue to maintain its competitiveness, I agree 100%. I am speaking now as the member of Parliament for Stoney Creek. I certainly do not think the tax file is closed, if that is the question. I think we have made great gains in terms of what we have done in unfolding and announcing that tax package, but I certainly think that if we are going to be competitive globally we also need to look at various areas of tax reform and different types of taxation rather than the structure we have in place today.
With respect to the United States, this is also not a race to the bottom. We also need to have a vision for the country as to what our values are, what types of values that we want to ensure are funded effectively by governments, and what values people support. It is not just about taxation. Taxation is a very important element in the overall competitiveness of the economy, but we can have the lowest taxes in all the G-7 and if we do not have the skilled people, the research infrastructure and the general infrastructure to move product to market, we will be lacking in our ability to grow as an economy. Taxation is very important, but it is certainly not the only issue for me.
In terms of the comment about suggested spending, I think we also have to acknowledge that while the spending that has been announced is quite high, by some measures, and some people have characterized it as quite high, we have to look as well at where the spending actually has occurred. The majority of it is in health care, which reflects what Canadians have been asking for. Also, the spending is in the context of the fiscal framework and the fiscal framework continues to ensure that we have balanced budgets. We still have contingency. We will have prudence built in. We are not in any way, through this budget, jeopardizing the fiscal framework that has been laid out. To me, that is a critically important point.
There is also the aspect of reallocation and the ongoing so-called cyclical program review, which is also a very important point for me in this budget. It is to ensure that the programs are constantly monitored to ensure that the funds allocated to them are actually providing the kinds of outcomes that we had intended them to provide, and if they are not, then let us deal with the reallocation.