Mr. Speaker, generally speaking, I would say that this is a chicken in every pot budget. I am hard pressed to find an issue someone did not bring up and ask for money. It was right across the board.
One of the things that the budget does not do and does not take account is the consequences of a deep recession on ordinary Canadians who lose their jobs and go into a stressful situation in their families. Despair becomes the norm in the household. It affects things like health, mental and physical health. It also affects the utilization of social services where people need some help, where they cannot feed themselves or cope with the stresses of life.
As the member will probably know, when there is a recession the crime rate will go up. When people are desperate, bad things happen and that requires additional policing costs.
The health care services, the social services and the policing services are all provided for by the provinces but the budget did not provide any increase in the transfers to the provinces. The formula stayed the same. It does not recognize that there will be a surcharge to be dealt with.
Does the member believe that the provinces have been left behind to pick up these pieces? Should this budget take into account that there will be higher costs for health care, social programs and criminal justice costs?