Mr. Speaker, the Speech from the Throne is a means of communication to tell Canadians what the government program is for the coming term. It should let us know what priority plans and programs the government has in store. It is a way of benchmarking election promises.
What is not in the speech makes people question where and when their personal concerns and issues will be addressed. By leaving out critical elements, the government leaves open to speculation as to what its real agenda may be.
When a minister of the Crown advises the House that the new government is not bound by any previous legal agreements such as those signed for child care, there will be legitimate concern about what else could be dismissed.
In that right I would like to ask the minister of culture to reinstate and restore full funding for the encounters with Canada program. This program is a valuable learning experience for young Canadians from sea to sea to sea.
Hopefully in the same manner the Minister of the Environment will see fit to restore the one tonne challenge and the climate action network which allowed individuals, groups and communities to actively involve themselves in environmental awareness initiatives.
I also trust that the Minister of Agriculture will honour the legacy fund as endorsed by the Canadian Cattlemen's Association which will help regain our export position for beef products.
As chair of the Liberal rural caucus, I have been advised that although CAIS has been beneficial in many situations, it needs thoughtful revamping rather than outright dismissal. Further, it is clear that a new and separate disaster relief program is a necessary component to accompany any such amended agriculture bill.
Conspicuous in its absence is any mention of support for tourism. When the Prime Minister rolled over to President Bush and abandoned the efforts of all those lobbying against an American imposed passport system, was he ignoring the billions of dollars to be lost in tourism? Will the budget address this?
For softwood lumber, based on the facts that all parties campaigned on platforms similar to the November Liberal plan and that $1.5 billion is booked and available for support, it is difficult to understand why the government will not free up this money immediately for those companies in such desperate need.
Weekly plant closures are occurring across the country and thousands of manufacturing jobs are being lost in my riding alone. Why will the government not help? Is it punishing the resource based communities of Canada? The question would be, why? If not, then why not use the available money today? These workers and communities cannot wait for George Bush to tell the Prime Minister when to speak up. The need is well beyond urgent.
The same situation applies to child care. In Ontario the agreement allowed the province to very generously upload child care services from municipalities, to the considerable relief of property taxpayers. With the cut and run policy of the new government, Ontario will not be able to open up a single new space. Tell that to the people who were hoping that this would have helped them break out of a cycle of dependency. In four years the burden of child care will return to municipalities, which will then have to raise property taxes to pay for these programs.
Further, the municipalities of my riding of Thunder Bay—Rainy River and indeed all of Canada, and Ontario especially, are awaiting the release of the infrastructure funding which was already in the budget. I am talking about phase two for those who may know those technical terms. In Ontario it is known as COMRIF. In mid-December, those who were eligible were supposed to receive notice of this federal assistance. Municipal budgets are being finalized across the country and still there is no word on this program and there was nothing in the throne speech. This is unconscionable. Four months of waiting makes it extraordinarily difficult for communities to put their budgets together.
Nationally the Canadian strategic infrastructure fund for larger cities is just about out of money. The throne speech forgot about these economic engines of national significance.
My question is very straightforward and it does not matter who answers. Will the Canadian strategic infrastructure fund be renewed, or has it been replaced by the borders initiative, for example? Whether it is the Minister of Finance, the Prime Minister or the minister responsible for communities, I know that municipalities and communities all across Canada are waiting for a very clear and definitive answer.
Yesterday in the Senate the question was asked and no answer was forthcoming. This issue is foremost in the minds of Canadian municipalities as it will drastically alter major infrastructure renewal plans.
I am asking the government to please not set back support for municipalities. The annual Liberal GST rebate of $700 million and the gas tax rebate of $5 billion over five years were promised to be permanent. Will the government at least confirm to Canada's municipalities that these revenue sources will be honoured?
Also, for the people of my riding of Thunder Bay—Rainy River, I am asking if there are any plans for a buy Canada component in any federal funding assistance for public transportation infrastructure. Many members may be aware that the City of Ottawa recently awarded its light rail transit contract to China, taking all that technology, expertise and the possibility of developing it in our national capital away from our own country. This of course is very serious for my home community and my riding, but it also has implications for Ontario and indeed the entire country.
All of these things put together I believe are valid questions. Most of them actually have not been raised in this forum throughout the throne speech and I am pleased to have had the opportunity to do so. The goal in adopting a buy Canada program would be to ensure that public funds are used to support domestic market and suppliers, and young people who want to stay in smaller communities such as Thunder Bay.
Overall, when we think about what the throne speech means to Canadians, they look to it as a guideline, some form of saying that this is what the Conservatives said they were going to do and this is what they will do and in what timeframe.
When we examine all of these things, whether it be support for young people's programs, support for child care, support for a buy Canada program to develop transit technology to help people get to places quicker and cleaner, all of these things put together amount to concern about what is not in the budget.
What is of particular concern to Liberals is the fact that money is available for softwood lumber. It was booked. Everyone in this House agrees that the forest products companies are in dire straits. Please, if we could do one thing before Easter, it would be to free up this money and help those companies, those workers and those communities.