As my colleagues are all saying, the answer is no, of course not. If they had been consulted, the government by now would have started to recognize that workers and families in this country deserve a break, not just the corporations and wealthy individuals who had the benefit of the $200 billion tax cuts over the last five years and over the money lost against the debt, even though it has hardly changed our debt to GDP ratio one iota.
On that point, it would only be helpful to the debate if a Liberal or maybe even a Conservative would stand and actually acknowledge the fact that we can achieve a 25% debt to GDP ratio at almost the same rate by putting that money into programs and having Canadians contribute to the economy and grow the economy, rather than putting all that money against the debt while Canadians continue to suffer in terms of poverty, unemployment, job insecurity and economic difficulties.
Have Canadians been consulted? Will they see their wishes mirrored in the next budget as a result of the consultation process we have just been through? If the past is any example, I would guess that probably Canadians will be disappointed. They will not see their concerns mirrored in the budget. I would say, based on what we heard from Canadians over the last several weeks, there does not seem to be any kind of acknowledgement of those feelings and those aspirations.
We are reading now in the newspapers about a government that seems to be still determined to go forward on tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy while Canadians continue to suffer. Is it not interesting that we heard from several hundred organizations in the course of a few weeks in terms of our budget consultations, most of whom wanted to see government start to invest in Canada and in Canadians, in housing, in the environment, in health care, in education, in a living wage for families.
They did not call for tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. They did not call for all of our surplus money to go against the debt. They know from personal experience that there is not much point in paying off one's house if the roof is going to leak. There is not much point in making sure there are no more payments on the car if the wheels fall off. They know that it is important to balance the needs of one's family with the requirement to pay down one's debts on a reasoned, rational basis without sacrificing the health and well-being of one's own loved ones.
The same situation applies when it comes to this budget, when it comes to this country. We have to acknowledge that we will have no country at the end of the day if we ignore the needs of Canadians, if we do not ensure that there is a comprehensive child care program where kids can get quality care in a non-profit setting. We have to acknowledge the fact that if our children cannot get an education without being hit with a debt for the rest of their lives, we are no further ahead in terms of using the talents of this nation to better this country and to grow the economy.
We have to understand that if people are homeless in our inner cities, then we are no further ahead in terms of ensuring that everyone can contribute to our society. We have to acknowledge that if farmers are struggling because the government will not recognize the difficulties the family farms are facing, we have nothing in terms of being able to feed our nation. We have to acknowledge that if half the nation is not reflected in this budget, the points of view of women who struggle and work daily to try to juggle family and work responsibilities, to care for their kids and make a contribution, if those contributions are not recognized, we are no further ahead.
The government has a terrible record for actually consulting Canadians and ensuring that their wishes are reflected in the budget. I fear for what the budget will bring, unless we can make the government wake up and see that it is imperative that the needs of Canadians are taken into account, and not those of the select few, those with the money interests in our society today having all the benefits.