Mr. Chair, I thank the hon. member who plays a very pivotal role in the finance committee. The member for St. Catharines is much younger than me, Mr. Chair, I am sure that is obvious when you look at him. We expect him to be here for many years. He has done a wonderful job representing his constituents and representing all Canadians on the finance committee.
He was one of the very few who was actually able to travel all across the country during our prebudget consultation. The rest of us were caught up in other issues, but the hon. member travelled across the country and heard from all Canadians. We had a discussion at committee today about how many of those recommendations we heard during our prebudget consultations; 22 of the 37 recommendations, if I have the figures right, were actually implemented in the budget.
The entire budget may not be implemented if the NDP has its way. The NDP tried to hold this up at committee. Fortunately, we had the support of the Liberals because they recognized all of the important pieces in this budget, important to all Canadians. The Liberals helped us. The Bloc was there working with us. It understood the benefits that Canadians will see from this.
Let me share some of these benefits that we do hope and pray that the Liberals will continue support. If the NDP continues to play its silly games, it will hold up incredibly positive initiatives for Canadians if we do not get this through the House and through the Senate before summer. Let me talk about some of them.
The tax-free savings account, TFSA, is scheduled to come into play January 1. Canadians for the first time will be able to save tax-free, capital gains free. That is the first time since RRSPs were implemented. It is not to replace RRSPs, but to supplement savings for Canadians. Also, we are looking at $500 million to help improve public transit; $400 million to help recruit new front line police officers; and nearly $250 million for carbon capture and storage, both in Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia. Mr. Chair, you would appreciate and know a lot about the one in Saskatchewan. There is also $160 million to support geonomics and biomedical research. We need to raise the alarm bell that these need--