Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Northumberland—Quinte West. I thank you for the opportunity to speak to the House about some of the priorities important to the people of my riding of Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, priorities I believe all Canadians share.
I will not take up all of my time boasting about the government's record in the last 10 years, but I do want to say how proud I am to be part of this Liberal government, a government that takes a balanced approach in dealing with the challenges of our country. It is a government that has achieved great things over the past decade. We have a strong and vibrant economy, millions of jobs have been created, we are alone in the G-8 with respect to our surpluses, and we have eliminated the deficit.
The official opposition will argue that we did not cut enough taxes. It makes some wild claims about our success as a government. It would probably say we did not cut enough programs either. On the other side, the NDP will probably complain that we have not done enough. I probably agree with much of what it has to say, but the fact is that our government is balanced and moderate.
We believe that government can and should play a key role in the lives of Canadians. We believe that Canadians expect us to spend their money on their priorities and they expect us to live within our means.
When we took office in 1993, we inherited a massive deficit of $42 billion. It was a Liberal government that made the tough and painful decisions to bring some order and stability back to government. Now the Liberal government is even balancing provincial budgets.
The recent agreement with the province of Nova Scotia and the federal government on offshore revenues has resulted in a significant and immediate infusion of federal money to Nova Scotia. It was not a gift; it was the right thing to do. It was a commitment that the Prime Minister made. With the great support of the member for Halifax West and his Newfoundland counterpart that commitment was fulfilled.
Our premier, Mr. Hamm, has indicated wisely that he will take this $830 million and apply it to the provincial debt, a provincial debt that was created solely by a Tory government over the period of 15 years, from 1978 to 1993, arguably the worst provincial government in the history of the country. It is certainly one of the worst, after eight years of consecutive Liberal balanced budgets in Nova Scotia from 1970 until 1978 under the leadership of Gerald Regan, Peter Nicholson, Allan Sullivan and Scott MacNutt. Between 1978 and 1993 we had 15 consecutive deficit budgets. This decision and this money will free up close to $50 million a year for my province of Nova Scotia. I applaud the premier for making that decision.
With the new equalization agreement, Nova Scotia gets another $151 million this year and $1 billion over 10 years in new health care money. It is clear the Government of Canada has stepped up and shown its commitment to Canadians, but for me particularly, to all Nova Scotians, including the people in my riding of Dartmouth—Cole Harbour.
We are now fully engaged in the budget discussion and I want to commend the finance minister for his leadership in seeking input as he constructs a living document that will reflect the values of Canadians. However, I want to share a few thoughts that I think are important to Canadians.
First, the recent events in Asia have given us pause. The devastating situation has moved our country in a profound way. As the death toll continues to mount, it becomes more and more important that the government and Canadians not forget the great needs. It reminds us that while we have issues here in Canada, they pale in comparison to the needs of the developing world. We would do well to have our discussions about budgets within the context of the enormous wealth of our nation and that by being born in Canada, we are privileged people. I believe we owe something to those who were not.
I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the Minister of International Cooperation who has brought strength, sensitivity, seriousness and a sense of urgency to the issues, not only in Asia, but those issues related to Africa, particularly her efforts on behalf of Africa in the HIV pandemic.
In that light, I was interested that the previous speaker from the official opposition spoke about hitting our UN target of .7% of GDP. I hope all the people in his party feel as strongly about that. It is an issue I support. We are a generous country and I believe that most Canadians understand that we have a responsibility to the rest of the planet.
At home, our good government and sound fiscal management has given us the capacity to further invest in key priorities. Some of those other people have spoken about child care, our health care system, for me particularly, the importance of promoting a national wellness strategy to keep people well, home care and palliative care, and the very important issue of caregiver support that we need to make our health care sustainable. I had the opportunity on Friday, with the Minister of State for Families and Caregivers, to host a conference on caregiving in my riding.
Post-secondary education, for me, is second to none. We have seen great things accomplished with the money that we have invested in research over the past five years. Canada is a leader now in the world of research. However, there is more we can do and there is more we must do.
It is fair to say that students and universities suffered while we got our fiscal house in order and while we got our health care system in order. In Nova Scotia, we have the highest tuition rates in the country. While we have taken steps to address some of those issues, it is perhaps time we focused more comprehensively on education.
I would like to see our government give serious consideration to establishing a dedicated Canada education transfer that would address some of the serious issues facing our students, universities and colleges. We can do this with appropriate and agreed upon national standards. We can reverse the trend that has seen students taking more of the burden of the post-secondary education costs.
Another issue is ACOA. I would encourage the government to reinvest in Atlantic Canada and, in particular, ensure that ACOA is able to continue its work in support of economic development in the Atlantic region. ACOA is a beacon of light and we should provide adequate funding and support of the “Rising Tide” report, a report that maps out a plan for strengthening economic prosperity in Atlantic Canada.
I had the opportunity in the last two weeks to visit a number of businesses who credit ACOA for helping them develop new technologies, for finding new markets, and for employing thousands of Atlantic Canadians.
National defence and the Coast Guard is another issue. I live in a military riding and I believe we have to reinvest in our military. I am glad we are starting to do that. Five thousand is a good start. We must do more. Our military families are the heart and soul of our armed forces. They need continued and further support, and I will certainly support that effort.
Our Coast Guard does wonderful work under difficult circumstances. It is the front line for our coastal security and for protecting our sovereignty. Two recent parliamentary reports identified the difficulties facing the Coast Guard. We need to inject significant dollars in order to ensure that our vessels are able to do the job they are asked to do. The Coast Guard is important, not just to my riding, but for the entire country.
All Canadians can be proud that we live in a great country. Despite our differences, we share some common values, we are generous, we understand the importance of supporting each other, we believe in collective responsibility, and we believe that our country is truly just when each of us has an equal opportunity to be successful and to live with dignity. I believe our government has done much for Canadians. I believe we can do a lot more, and I believe that we will.