Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is that the budget has been very helpful to the people of New Brunswick.
Members of the opposition, members of his party, obviously want to vote against the budget. They are trying to find reasons to do that. It is clear they have not actually read the budget.
What the member for Acadie—Bathurst has missed is all that the government has done for working families in New Brunswick. I would point the hon. member to page 226 of the budget plan where it outlines the measures in the government's new working families tax plan.
Budget 2007 proposes several measures that help working families to be better off and more secure. Together, the measures in this plan will benefit over three million taxpayers, removing 230,000 low income Canadians from the tax rolls. More than 75% of the tax relief will go to those with annual incomes below $75,000.
First, there is a $2,000 child tax credit that will provide up to $310 in tax relief for each child under 18 for more than three million Canadian families. More than 90% of families will receive maximum relief and almost 180,000 taxpayers will be removed from the tax rolls.
For New Brunswick parents, this amounts to an estimated $32 million in tax savings in 2007-08. On top of that, an increase in the basic spousal amount will provide up to $209 of tax relief to a supporting spouse or single taxpayer supporting a child or relative. This measure will save New Brunswick residents an estimated $6 million in 2007-08.
For New Brunswickers saving for their retirement, increasing the age limit to 71 from 69 for registered retirement savings plans and registered pensions will save them an additional $700,000 in 2007-08.
In light of the hon. member's concern for working families, I would also suggest that he read the section on page 78 of the budget plan that fulfills the government's commitment to introduce the working income tax benefit. This will help people get over what is often referred to as the welfare wall, a situation that discourages many low income Canadians from getting the jobs they and their families need.
This initiative will help make work more rewarding and attractive for an additional 1.2 million Canadians already in the workforce, thereby strengthening their incentive to stay employed. This represents up to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for families to reward work and strengthen incentives to work. Benefits for New Brunswick workers are in the order of $13 million.
So, we have a working families tax plan and a working income tax benefit. It does not get much clearer than that. Contrary to what the member for Acadie—Bathurst seems to think, Canada's new government has taken action to help working families, and that includes significant benefits to his own constituents.