Mr. Speaker, I thank the House for having the opportunity to speak in the last few minutes to Bill C-60.
I ask my colleagues to look at the economic impact of high debt and deficits on economies in the eurozone and U.S. and they will see that this issue really matters.
Canada's net debt to GDP ratio is 36%, the lowest level among G7 countries, with Germany being the second lowest at 58% and the G7 average 80%. Spending on federal government operations is projected to remain below 2010 levels for the next five years.
Budget 2013 would reduce government spending by an additional $1.7 billion by examining departmental spending, reducing travel costs with the use of technology such as video conferencing, shifting to electronic publishing and making print publications the exception and closing tax loopholes to ensure everyone pays their fair share.
We are doing this while at the same time making new and prudent investments in things like skills training, the new $15,000 Canada job grant, to help more Canadians find high quality, well-paying jobs, the new iteration of the building Canada fund with infrastructure investments of $70 billion and assisting the manufacturing sector with accelerated capital cost allowance.
Another important point that I did not hear this evening was increasing social and economic inclusion of persons with disabilities with a new $222 million investment on top of the existing $40 million.
There is a lot in Bill C-60 that I could speak about but my time is limited tonight. I encourage all members in the House to vote for this measure to ensure that all Canadians benefit from it as quickly as possible.