Madam Speaker, I want to thank the minister for sharing his time with me.
I want to make one clarification. The minister indicated that the member for Burlington was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry and that is not accurate. I can understand the confusion.
The member for Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont is that parliamentary secretary and does an absolutely fabulous job with the Minister of Industry. I am actually on that committee and he does a great job.
I am also very excited to stand up today on the day we recognize as International Women's Day. As a father of two daughters I hope and pray that the future for them is as bright as we are trying to make it here in Canada but around the world for women everywhere. That is why our men and women are working very hard on the ground in Afghanistan to ensure men and women and particularly women and girls have an opportunity in Afghanistan which they do not have in other parts of the world.
Today I am here to speak about budget 2010. It is year two of our Canada economic action plan. The budget title is “Leading the Way on Jobs and Growth”.
As we all know the recovery is fragile. We have seen some positive news on the GDP in the last quarter of last year of 5% which is a positive sign that our economic action plan is working on the ground, creating jobs and bringing Canada back to a growth mode that we have been so used to over the last number of years.
This budget has three major overriding ideas, concepts, goals that we would like to deliver on. The first goal confirms the $19 billion that was part of the second year of the economic action plan. Why is that important? People were planning on that money. Communities and provinces were planning on the delivery of the action plan funds. We have committed in the 2010 budget to follow through on our decision last year to have a two year plan to help us get back on our feet in this economy.
The second part of the budget invests in targeted programs to create jobs, and I will speak a little bit about that later. That is what the budget is really all about. It is about creating jobs for those who are young, people coming out of school, and those who find themselves in the difficult situation where they may have lost their jobs during the recession and it is time to get back to work. We are doing what we can from a budget perspective to make sure that it happens.
Finally, the budget also sets out our plan to get us back to balanced budgets. That is important to all of us in the House. We cannot continue as a government, as an individual or as a business to spend more than we have.
We had a unique situation last year with the recession, not just in Canada but worldwide. The decision of governments around the world was to spend money to kickstart the economy. Fortunately for us, it has worked in Canada as we can see from the GDP numbers and how things are progressing.
We need a plan though and the budget sets out a plan to get us back to a balanced position by 2015.
I want to highlight a few things that are important to me as the member of Parliament for Burlington that are in the budget.
First, there is the Great Lakes action plan of $8 million a year that will be given to Environment Canada to handle water quality issues that we are facing in the Great Lakes.
Burlington is a Great Lakes community. It is on Lake Ontario. I grew up in a small town called Port Elgin which is on Lake Huron. Therefore, I have spent my whole life living on one of the Great Lakes.
A number of years ago, after we took over government, I was able to convince the then minister of the Environment to come to the harbour in Hamilton and look at one of the hot spots in those Great Lakes. We have allocated $30 million for the clean up of what is called Randle Reef. The province has also come to the table with $30 million and now we are waiting for the municipality to come with its share.
With the Great Lakes action plan we have identified the importance of the quality of our drinking water for today and for future generations. It is the security of having clean freshwater, which this country has and which the Great Lakes provide for much of the eastern part of Canada, including the St. Lawrence Seaway, that makes our nation strong.
It is also a recreational and commercial waterway. The seaway and the Great Lakes play a vital role in the economic development along the Great Lakes. When this country first started, it was the transportation system that led to the development of the population along the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence. The waterway also provides great recreational facilities. Quality of life is important to us on this side of the House. Having a clean Great Lakes system is important for that to continue.
I wish to speak to and highlight the things we are doing for youth and youth employment in the budget.
We are providing $30 million for an internship program. This internship program will help young people who are coming out of university or college get their first jobs. We are still in tough economic times. The economy is fragile. We are trying to encourage businesses to employ young people in the field of their studies as they come out of the post-secondary education system. The $30 million will help create those jobs through the career focus program. This will give a leg-up to those who are trying to get started for the very first time. It is an excellent program and I appreciate its being in the budget.
We also have allocated $10 million to another program to help young entrepreneurs. In the fall I was at an event in Toronto which celebrated some of the winners, although everyone in the program is a winner, and the businesses that are created by young people. There is unbelievable talent. They are the job creators of the future, not just jobs for themselves but jobs in the companies that they start. With a bit of help from us through our entrepreneur program for young people, they will create jobs for future generations. It is a great opportunity for them to get the funding that is needed to get started.
There is $30 million in the budget for youth at risk. Youth at risk include ones with disabilities, single parents, and aboriginals. This $30 million will assist them in finding work that will add value to their lives and value to their communities, and I appreciate its being in the budget. That is a group that needs our government's support. This budget goes a long way in helping them find their way to be contributing members of our society.
There is $20 million for pathways to education. That is a program that works with partners, other governments, private sectors and NGOs for disadvantaged youth to pursue post-secondary education. These are young people who may be on the edge, who are unsure of what they want to do, and are not sure how they can access a university or college education. The pathways to education program will help those young folks find their way. The more education that young people have, the better off everyone will be in the long run.
There is $30 million over two years for a kindergarten to grade 12 education program for first nations. Obviously poverty is an issue for our first nations; no one is denying that. The best way out of poverty is through education and finding employment, and this money is to provide those employment opportunities, to help those first nations young people.
Business credit availability has been increased. Credit was an issue for businesses in the recession. It was a crisis for many. We continue to fund that. By the end of last year we had put $5 billion into that program, which helped over 9,000 businesses. We are going to continue to fund that program. We are adding half a million dollars for financing vehicles and other equipment purchases to enable businesses to move forward.
My time is running out as is my voice, so in closing, there are a number of good things in this budget that affect my riding and people in my hometown. I am very supportive of the budget and I would be happy to answer any questions.