Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak, but there is so much to say and so little time. We have 10 minutes in which to respond. I will be sharing my time with my colleague, the wonderful MP from across the harbour, the MP for Halifax. We will perhaps give a bit of a Nova Scotia flavour of how to respond to this budget. However, there is so much to say.
There is no question that the budget came down in a great deal of flurry and fanfare, but it appeared, not to overuse a phrase, that it really was a lot of smoke and mirrors. Once we began to dig down a bit, we saw the sleights of hand. However, we will not be able to get into the details until the implementation act is tabled.
I want to focus a bit on the budget as it relates to my constituency and as it relates to a process I have been involved in for the past couple of years. I bring representatives from different sectors and areas in the community to share with me and with each other their thoughts, priorities, and their advice to the government on the upcoming budget. It is a wonderful experience for me, and I know it is for the people who participate. We go for three hours, and we share some very valuable information about the community and our perspectives on the nation and what the government is doing. I want to share some of that with the members.
As I indicated, I held a community round table at North Woodside Community Centre in the riding of Dartmouth—Cole Harbour. We dealt with a wide range of perspectives. We had a wonderful level of discussion and debate. We talked about trains and public transit, poverty and affordable housing, funding for local infrastructure, community organizations, regional economic development, defence procurement, environmental protection, and so much more.
We also talked about how on a whole range of issues there seems to be a complete lack of consultation by the government. This was expressed across the board. Whether it is consulting the provinces, stakeholders, or first nations, the government seems not to care what ordinary Canadians have to say about these issues and therefore does not engage with them in discussions before it makes important decisions. Even in the case where the Supreme Court of Canada has said that with respect to first nations, Inuit and Métis, the Government of Canada has legal obligations to consult and accommodate them, the current government completely ignores those obligations. People are feeling that. People feel the disdain with which the government seems to hold its ideas. They see it and they feel it, and they find it quite disappointing.
I was also disappointed with what I heard emanating from some of this discussion, and that is that citizens are feeling disheartened about participating in the political process. In fact, one participant went so far as to describe the government's approach to consultation as an erosion of opportunity to submit ideas. Another commented on how those who like nature have been equated by the government to being enemies of the state.
I think we agree in this House, but we have to pay attention to the effect of our actions. We want citizens to be engaged in the political process by having a government that will work actively to find ways, not reduce ways, for people to participate, to voice their concerns, as well as to voice their agreement, if that happens to exist. Unfortunately, we see too often that the current government wants to hear only from people who agree with it rather than those who dissent.
I cannot tell members enough how grateful I am and have been that we have so many interested and interesting people in my community, who take the time to share their perspectives with me and with each other.
Let me now talk about why I believe the budget fails to deal with a number of items discussed at the community hall meeting that afternoon.
On infrastructure, this budget commits $50 billion over 10 years in the face of Canada's current infrastructure budget, which is tagged at over $300 billion right now. It is a sleight of hand. The government is going to be spending less money over the next two years, at a time when our infrastructure is crumbling. At this time in Nova Scotia, Dartmouth and Halifax, the municipality is working desperately to maintain sewer and water lines. Those costs are being borne by taxpayers. The government needs to step up to help fund that level of infrastructure. It is deteriorating at a terrible rate, and the government is simply not putting the money forward that is needed.
On trains, there was no commitment in this budget to re-establish daily trips from Montreal to Halifax. In the last year, the government cut in half the daily VIA Rail passenger service from Montreal. It has been reduced from six trips to three. We need to recognize that this is where the trip ends. The people in Halifax, whether they be students or people who would rather travel by train or they do not have a car, do not have any other options. Some would suggest that the government is focusing some attention on VIA in central Canada and forgetting about the people in Atlantic Canada. It has cut back passenger rail service through northeastern New Brunswick. Communities there have been completely abandoned. What is interesting is that at the end of February, early March, for three successive weekends, the railcars in operation were completely booked, both sleeper and passenger car services. People are disappointed that the government has not come forward to properly fund trains.
On transit, Canada is still the only G8 country that does not have a national transit strategy because the Conservatives voted down the NDP motion in the House earlier this year. On poverty, poverty rates in Canada are on the rise. Instead of working with provinces to address the root causes, the government is downloading social costs onto the provinces. On regional development, one of the best ways to foster economic growth is to invest in local innovation. The Atlantic region has a wealth of innovation in areas such as agriculture and green technologies, but the government has provided no new funding to invest in these and other exciting regional industries.
What New Democrats have found in this budget, and we will begin to dig into the details as we go forward, is that the government is failing to support national programs and is now funnelling money into opportunities for government members to hand out cheques. It is pork-barrelling gone mad.
As I wrap up, I want to remind all members of the House that the Constitution commits all governments, provincial and federal, to promoting equal opportunities, furthering economic development, reducing regional disparities and providing essential public services to all Canadians. The federal government is not doing that. In fact, it is heading in the absolute wrong direction. We need a strong federal government that recognizes the value of all regions and all people of the country. It should pull things together and make sure there is equality of opportunity throughout this country, so we can all participate together in moving the country forward. This budget fails to achieve that.