Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on the budget, the eighth consecutive surplus budget of the government.
After eight years of surpluses, it is easy to think that Canada's fiscal condition has always been this good. It easy to think that Canada has always had a low unemployment rate. It is easy to think that Canada has always had a low interest rate. It is easy to think that the economy has always been strong, our growth so high and our future so promising.
For those under 30 years of age in Canada watching this, that thinking is forgivable. However, I am not in that cohort of Canadians. I have lived through other regimes in the history of the country. I have seen interest rates at 24%, unemployment at 12%, the annual deficit of the country rise to $43 billion and our debt to GDP ratio rise as high as 71%. I have seen what can happen to the country when the central government loses control of the fiscal and monetary controls available to it.
If we do not pay attention to what has gone on in the past, we are bound to repeat the mistakes of the past. The fiscal mess the government inherited reminds us vividly of what happens when a government does lose fiscal control. This government took that mess and turned it around with the best fiscal track record of any government since confederation and $61 billion has been paid down on Canada's accumulated debt.
The debt to GDP ratio has been decreased from 71% to 38%. Canadians now enjoy the highest rates of job creation and standard of living of all G-7 countries. Year after year the government has produced a sound, balanced budget. I can tell members of the House and all Canadians that this year is no different. The government is firmly in control of the fiscal and monetary levers available to it.
I first had an opportunity to speak to this budget when it was introduced in February. The budget at that time had been applauded by members of the House, private organizations and Canadians from coast to coast to coast. I congratulated the Minister of Finance and remarked at the time that the footprints and handprints of the other parties, the Conservative Party, the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québécois, were on the budget. I stated at the time that good things happened when people worked together. This was a very good budget.
I thought that I was the first one in the House to embrace the budget, but I was not. The first person was the Leader of the Opposition, and quite rightly so. Unfortunately things have changed. For reasons unbeknownst to me, the Leader of the Opposition changed his mind. He said that he would no longer support the budget. Once he said that he would not support the budget, he said that he would make a deal with the Bloc Québécois. Then he told Canadians that he would try to use every method at his disposal to have an election called, an election that Canadians do not want.
This is a very important point to remember. Less than a year ago Canadians chose a minority government and they, quite rightly, expected that government to work. The budget that was tabled in the House and that was embraced by the Leader of the Opposition, by myself and all Canadians, showed clearly that a minority government could work, that the parties could put aside their differences for the common interests of all Canadians. That is what Canadians have, a budget that addresses their interests, values and priorities. It is a budget that the people of this country want to see passed. They want it to become the law.
Canadians want the budget passed so they will have a system of high quality, universal, inclusive, accessible early learning and child care. The government has committed $5 billion over the next five years toward this initiative which aims to give all Canadian children the very best possible start on the future. Deals are already in the works with many provinces. Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia already have signed agreements with respect to this initiative.
Canadians want the budget passed so they will have modern infrastructure in their home towns through the government's new deal for cities and communities. Across the country municipalities are already enjoying the benefits of the GST rebates and are counting, and in fact it is in many of their budgets, on new allocations to meet the needs of the residents of these cities, towns and communities. They want to know that agreements between their provincial governments and the federal government, which promise much needed funds for infrastructure, will be honoured by the House.
Canadians want the budget passed so they know that their fundamental needs for clean air, fresh water and a healthy environment are being addressed. They want to know that the environment is front and centre, that it is being protected and that the serious issue of climate change is being addressed.
The $1 billion clean fund, the action plan on climate change and the many other environmental and sustainable initiatives are all very important to Canadians from coast to coast.
Every day my office hears from Canadians, not only from my riding of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island but from across the country telling me, writing me, phoning me and emailing me that they want the budget passed.
I have received letters from mayors and town councillors emphasizing how badly the funds promised in the budget are needed. I have heard from families who are counting on the government investing in their children. I have heard from individuals who are counting on the commitments to our environment.
I have not heard personally, but I have read about it in the media of the many premiers who are asking the House to pass the budget. The most recent spectacle is the Premier of Newfoundland who is asking all 307 of us to pass the budget. Apparently two members from his province, the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, will put politics ahead of the people of that province. People will be watching them on Thursday.
I have heard from Canadians from across the country, from all ages and backgrounds, who expect Parliament to work. Canadians have chosen a minority government. That was their decision and they had that right. We as their elected representatives need to honour that decision and ensure that Parliament continues to work on their behalf.
The budget does work on their behalf. It is for that reason I will add my voice to all those across the country calling for the budget to be passed. That is what Canadians are asking us. Therefore, I tell every member of the House, let us turn the page, let us get the job done, let us pass the budget.