I will be coming back to that.
There was a strange sense of déjà vu on Tuesday, listening to the finance minister deliver policy after policy that first came from the Liberal side of the House. For example, take the gas tax that is proposed to be permanently transferred to the cities for infrastructure. The Liberal member for Wascana announced in 2005, “The Government of Canada will share with municipalities a portion of the revenue from the federal excise tax on gasoline to help provide new, reliable, long term funding to ensure fairness among regions and among communities”. This example is only one of many measures announced on Tuesday that we have all heard before.
Another glaring example of the void of ideas from the government is the fact that since last year's budget, the Liberal Party has called for support for the auto sector. Yet the finance minister refused to act upon it until now. Why this sudden reversal of politics and patience? Because the government has become very nervous by the polls. It has realized that what attracts voters are Liberal policies that make a difference in the lives of people.
For these reasons, the budget is something that is not worth triggering an election over. Although, over the past couple of days many people have asked me why the Prime Minister is finally listening to the demands of the official opposition. My answer continues to be that this is the path with which Canadians are most comfortable. The finance minister was obviously made aware of this in the budget consultations across the country.
The second reason the budget was a disappointment was the fact that the specific priorities of my riding of Newton—North Delta had come up well short in this budget.
In the 2006 election campaign, the Prime Minister made a pledge to put an additional 2,500 municipal police officers on the street. During the past two years, city and municipal leaders and police departments have been appalled by the lack of action. I have raised this matter in the House and in the media as well, but not one cent has been invested toward the election promise until Tuesday.
Now that the money has been committed, it is clear that the amount is completely insufficient to attract enough new officers to make our streets and communities safer. In every city in Canada, local police departments and RCMP detachments are hungry for new recruits. Aggressive campaigns have been initiated to attract the best and brightest. It has come to the point where municipalities are actively competing against one another for new personnel.
On Tuesday, the finance minister offered only $400 million over five years for those additional 2,500 municipal police officers.
I am not a mathematician, but I did some calculations to see how far that money would go. If we break down the $400 million over five years, it works out to $80 million annually, spread out over 2,500 officers. This averages to a rate of pay of only $32,000 a year.
Let us consider the work our police do, the dangerous realities of the job, the long hours and the time away from family. Officers are even being relied upon for mental health counselling on the street, according to the recent Vancouver police study. How can we possibly expect to attract the number of recruits needed with such an inadequate amount of funding?
My riding is also worried about the embarrassing investment in border security. Last year was the busiest year of cross-border traffic that Canada has seen since 2001 and yet this budget only allots enough money for one new officer per entry point.
My riding relies heavily on the smooth flow of goods and people being able to cross the border but since the summer the delays and lineups have been obscene. Business owners, exporters, trucking companies and residents are being forced to wait hours in their idling cars. They have all come to me, desperate for some kind of change. I have raised the issue with the minister in the past, but this budget will do little to relieve their frustration.
Going the other way, the government has stood by silently while the United States dictates its border policy in isolation. We are left with more traffic than our border security can handle but the government has failed to recognize how serious this problem is.
I am also troubled by what has happened to the Liberal legacy of fiscal responsibility. This budget projects a surplus of only $2.3 billion this year and $1.3 billion next year. This is well below the $3 billion contingency fund the Liberals established as a bare minimum to cushion against unanticipated economic shock.
The government's actions over the last two years have left it no room to manoeuvre if the economy continues to falter. We must not allow Canada to return to deficit but the irresponsible policies of the government have put us dangerously close to being in the red.
I sought out the opinions of my constituents of Newton—North Delta and found that there was little appetite to spend $300 million of taxpayer money. If we were to bring down the government, it would cost the taxpayers $300 million to go into an election. I have also found that people are looking for vision from the government, something that it is sorely lacking at this moment.