Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Kildonan—St. Paul.
I am honoured to rise this afternoon to speak in support of budget 2007 presented by the Minister of Finance. This budget has the potential to positively impact Canadians in each of our constituencies. I know that in my riding of Peterborough the additional support for working families, lower taxes, investments in infrastructure and more support for our seniors and students will relieve a heavy burden from many of my valued constituents.
In this vein, let us abandon our partisan adversarialism for a moment and put the best interest of Canadians before ideological pride. The finance minister has done this and budget 2007 reflects our government's commitment to institutionalizing what Canadians have identified as their key priorities.
I am proud to be part of a government that is committed to keeping its promises, a government committed to fiscal fairness and accountability, but more so, a government committed to working with and on behalf of all Canadians. What a refreshing change for Canadians to see their hard-earned tax dollars being invested in programs that will directly benefit their lives.
I would now like to speak briefly to some of the key measures included in budget 2007.
Let me begin with our government's tax fairness plan which allows pension income splitting, fairness in the treatment of RRSPs and a pension plan for those seniors who choose to work later in life. This will directly impact 20,285 of my valued constituents in Peterborough. This government's commitment to seniors finally offers them financial security in what should be their golden years.
The dark days that characterized the previous government's rule are officially over. There is light at the end of the tunnel. We have demonstrated this over the past year and will continue to do so in the years ahead.
Another example of our government's commitment to Canadians is reflected in our new tax relief plan for working families. The new working families tax plan will deliver a $2,000 tax credit for each child under the age of 18. For the families of over 24,680 children under the age of 18 in Peterborough this new tax credit will result in tax savings of $7.6 million.
This government is committed to helping families over the welfare wall. The working income tax benefit, WITB, will provide $500 for individuals and $1,000 for families. For the past year I have been a voice for hard-working families in our community and I am proud to deliver real results for them today. Mine is a working class riding and this is a working class budget. The introduction of a working income tax benefit will provide immediate relief to those in our community who work hard to make ends meet.
Our government is also committed to providing $1 billion in new assistance to farmers for improvements in the national farm income programs. Our budget addresses the high production costs involved in farming and we will make a $400 million direct payment to help relieve this burden. We will also invest $600 million to kick-start contributory style producer savings accounts. Unlike the previous government, our government recognizes that farmers feed cities and as such it is our responsibility to see that they do not go hungry.
Following 9/11, the SARS outbreak and the new requirements for passports under the western hemisphere travel initiative, the tourism industry suffered greatly. The creation of the foreign convention and tour incentive program demonstrates this government's acknowledgement that tourism is a driving economic force for many local communities.
In Peterborough alone, the tourism industry contributes tens of millions of dollars to our local economy. The rural townships surrounding Peterborough such as Otonobee South Monaghan and Smith-Ennismore-Lakefield rely on the tourism industry year round for employment. Urban municipalities such as the city of Peterborough use festivals as a means of attracting tourists to their communities. It is with this thought in mind that our government commits to investing $39 million in funding our new local arts and heritage festivals, as well as $5 million for historical and heritage buildings.
Our government is committed to the future. This is reflected in our increased annual support for the provinces and territories for post-secondary education by $800 million, for a total investment of $3.2 billion by 2008-09. This represents an increase in transfers for post-secondary education and federal support will continue to grow by 3% every year thereafter. This is good news for Trent University and Fleming College. This commitment to our future will position our citizens in a better place to prosper in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.
Overall, this budget is great news for working families in my community and across the country. As the details of the budget are being debated in the House of Commons, I will continue to stand up for Peterborough to ensure that the issues of importance to our community continue to be brought forward and discussed.
I call on members of the House to support budget 2007.