Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today on behalf of the hard-working families of Palliser, on behalf of seniors, producers, small business people and students in my constituency who told me that during the last federal election, they wanted a government in Ottawa that would deliver responsible spending and real tax relief to put money back into their pockets after more than a decade of Liberal mismanagement.
Our government has delivered on that commitment with our first budget. When I went home after the budget last weekend, Palliser residents told me this was a good budget and that our government was on the right track.
We have delivered on our commitment to tax relief. In fact, the budget delivers $20 billion in tax relief over two years. As has been said by many members, that is more than the last four Liberal budgets combined.
If there was one thing I heard again and again on the doorsteps of Palliser residents during the last election campaign, it was that they were overtaxed. Is it any wonder that they felt that way? Under the previous Liberal government, billions of dollars were taken from Canadians through overtaxation and wasted on scandals and boondoggles such as the sponsorship program and a costly and ineffective gun registry.
Meanwhile, families in Palliser are working longer, paying more in taxes and saving less than they were 13 years ago, but I am proud to say that all that has changed under the new Conservative government.
The bottom line of budget 2006 is that every resident of Palliser, every family in Saskatchewan and every person across this great country will see real tax relief.
In the budget our government has committed to reducing the GST from 7% to 6%, effective July 1 of this year and creating a new $1,000 Canada employment credit, which starts effective July 1. We will reduce the lowest personal income tax rate from 16% to 15.5%, effective July 1. We will increase the amount that all Canadians can earn without paying federal income tax.
We will create a new apprenticeship job creation tax credit of up to $2,000 per apprentice. We will completely eliminate the federal income tax on all income from scholarships, bursaries and fellowships while creating a new text book tax credit for post-secondary students. I can not say how much I would have liked that to have been in place when I was a student while the Liberals were in power.
We will provide a physical fitness tax credit for up to $500 to cover registration fees for children's sport, which was very well received by parents with one, two or three kids in sports in my riding. We will double the amount of eligible pension income that seniors can claim under the pension income credit, the first such increase in more than 30 years delivered by the government and the Prime Minister.
As I said, budget 2006 delivers $20 billion in tax relief over two years. That is more tax relief than the last four federal budgets combined. For every $1 in new spending, we have delivered $2 in real tax relief back to Canadians.
As a result of these measures, residents of Saskatchewan will pay $250 million less in taxes in 2007. Families earning between $15,000 and $30,000 a year will be better off by almost $300 a year in 2007. Those earning between $45,000 and $60,000 will save almost $650. Those are real results for families.
Unlike the previous government, our government has focused spending on key federal priorities, Canadians' priorities, that will get results and provide value for taxpayers money.
I neglected to inform the Chair, Mr. Speaker, that I will be splitting my time with the excellent member of Parliament from Edmonton—Sherwood Park.
A significant example of this is the new universal child care benefit. As of July 1, Palliser families will receive $1,200 per year for each child under six. That is real results. That is real money in the pockets of constituents in my riding, not fictional spaces, not promised spaces. We heard promises for 13 years with no delivery. This is money in the hands of families. We will also spend $250 million, beginning in 2007, to create child care spaces.
We have also followed through on our commitment to make our streets safer and to reduce the crime epidemic that is sweeping our communities. We heard from the Liberal member opposite that he would welcome a prison in his riding. We can have that debate another time. I invite him to come on over and join us as we get tough on crime in the country.
Under federal Liberal and provincial NDP governments, my home province of Saskatchewan holds the dubious distinction of being Canada's crime capital. When I talk to seniors in Moose Jaw and families in Regina about the problem of crime, they have told me clearly that it is time to get tough on crime and tough on criminals.
During the last Parliament, I demanded many times that the former Liberal government get tough on drug crimes to address the crystal meth epidemic, which continues to sweep our province. The residents of Palliser indicated during the last election that they were tired of begging the Liberals to take action and that we needed a new government in Ottawa that was serious about getting tough on serious crimes. With the budget, we are keeping our word. We are cracking down on crime.
We will provide $161 million to put more RCMP officers on the streets. We will invest $37 million in my home city of Regina for the RCMP to expand its national training academy. This is great news for Regina and the province of Saskatchewan. We will provide $20 million for communities to use to develop programs designed to prevent youth crime. We will provide the money that is required to arm our border agents. We have delivered on our commitment to make our streets and our borders safer.
I want to turn now to agriculture and what budget 2006 delivers to agricultural producers, who are the backbone of Palliser's economy. Farming is part of our heritage. Farmers feed our cities and keep our rural communities strong. Falling prices and trade disputes are causing them real financial hardship. People are suffering. They are losing farms that have been in their families for generations.
Current insurance and income support programs are not doing enough, and we cannot allow this to continue. That is why our government will restore and sustain a strong, vibrant farm sector which provides the income farmers need to live.
One of our government's first actions was to accelerate disbursement of $755 million in payments under the grains and oilseeds payment program. We are now going further. In budget 2006 our government is committing an additional $2 billion in funding over two years, $1.5 billion of which will be allocated in this budget.
During the election we committed to an additional $500 million for farm support programs, and we are delivering on that promise. We will provide an additional $500 million per year for farm support. We will provide a one time investment of $1 billion to help farmers in the transition to more effective programming for farm income stabilization and disaster relief.
Unlike the previous Liberal government, which lurched from crisis to crisis on the farm gate without any real vision or commitment to improving things, our government has begun the process of scrapping the CAIS and replacing it with programs that are simpler for farmers and that will actually deliver results.
As the residents of Palliser understand and appreciate, the Conservative government has delivered on its key priorities. Families, seniors, students and working people will all see tax relief in this budget and new spending which addresses their priorities and improves their security. We have also addressed health care, which is of particular importance to the residents of Palliser. Despite being the home of Tommy Douglas, Saskatchewan continues to experience the longest wait lists in the country under an NDP government.
It is unfortunate that two parties did not support the budget. I do not know how they are going to go home and look their constituents in the eye and explain why they voted against real tax relief and real help for families in our country.