Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to speak to budget 2016. This being my first speech in the House, I would like to thank the great people of Dartmouth—Cole Harbour for placing their trust in me as their representative. It is an absolute honour, and one that I take extremely seriously. I thank the many folks who worked tirelessly through the long nomination campaign, and of course the 78-day election campaign.
I also want to thank my incredible staff, both here in Ottawa and at home in Dartmouth—Cole Harbour. I also need to thank my amazing family, my wife Anne, Bruen, Ava, and our puppy dog Tobey. We are still learning and adjusting to working in Ottawa while living in Dartmouth—Cole Harbour. It has been a challenge. I cannot thank them nearly enough for their patience, understanding, and day-to-day perseverance while dad tries to fit as much as he can into his day. The next step in the learning curve will be scheduling some time in the gym.
I was also pleased to join my friend, the member for Halifax, in welcoming the Minister of Finance when he made Halifax his first stop on his cross-country consultation for this budget. A group of Nova Scotia MPs were fortunate to join him at the Halifax Chamber of Commerce and at Dalhousie University where, at both venues, the minister engaged with stakeholders, students, and the community.
This budget is not just about money. This budget is about people. We are seeing a transformative plan for investments in our families, communities, veterans, and clean sustainable infrastructure. Nova Scotia will be far better off than it has been in many years, thanks to budget 2016. With this budget, Nova Scotia will see a total of $3.1 billion in major federal transfers in 2016-17. As a province, it will receive $1.7 billion through equalization, $943 million through the Canada health transfer, and $349 million through the Canada social transfer.
Before becoming a member of Parliament, I spent six years on city council. I was well aware of how desperate my region was for a partnership with the federal government. Long-stalled projects like the Burnside expressway need a voice in the House, and I will be that voice.
This budget delivers $32 million to Nova Scotia municipalities for public transit. As the mayor and my friend Mike Savage said about the budget, “The government is very well aware of municipal needs, and have been very supportive” and “investing in infrastructure is good news for our economy”.
During the campaign, I did my best to knock on every door in my riding. Repeatedly, parents told me that they need more money in their pockets, more money for kids' recreation, such as hockey, baseball, soccer, and paddling on Dartmouth's amazing Lake Banook.
This budget builds on our campaign promise to strengthen the middle class. When we have a solid middle class working and contributing to our economy and communities, everyone benefits. We are putting money back into the pockets of middle-class Canadians. We are making it so that more parents can afford to put their kids in sports and arts through the middle-class tax cut and the Canada child benefit.
With the Canada child benefit, families in Nova Scotia will receive $255 million more in child benefits between 2016 and 2018. That is a significant investment in our families. It will help to lift thousands of children in my area out of poverty, and it is tax free, more help for those who need help more.
In Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, there are numerous veterans and military families. Veterans deserve the long-term financial stability that our budget will provide. I am proud to say that we are working to remove the red tape that makes it hard for veterans to obtain proper in-person government services. As a member of the national defence committee, I recently had the opportunity to question the defence minister about transitioning our servicemen and women to veterans, and how we can better care for them. The defence minister assured everyone that he is collaborating closely with the Minister of Veterans Affairs to achieve a seamless transition from service to veteran. It is about working together, and that collaboration is something I am seeing between our caucus and cabinet every day.
This budget provides Nova Scotia with over $78 million in new funding over five years for our veterans.
As someone who has served as a member of the environment committee federally and municipally, I am heartened to see an investment of $5 billion nationally for green infrastructure spending, for clean water and waste water infrastructure, electric vehicle charging stations, and other clean technology. I am proud to say that we are also making admission to Canada's national parks free in 2017.
We have a high number of seniors who are finding it harder each year to make ends meet. Our government will follow through on its pledge to roll back the age in which seniors can access their OAS and GIS from 67 to 65. We will boost that GIS for thousands of low-income seniors, Nova Scotian seniors, many of whom are women.
Dartmouth—Cole Harbour will see investments in social infrastructure funding for seniors homes, affordable housing, and child care centres, much needed and way overdue.
I want to touch on what our government has committed to for small business. Budget 2016 supports Canada's innovators and entrepreneurs. It gives them the help they need to access expertise, identify new markets, and scale up for future growth.
I want members to come to downtown Dartmouth and see how local small business entrepreneurs have revitalized our downtown Dartmouth core. If an individual walks down to the Alderney Market on Saturday morning, they will pass numerous new businesses: Bodega Boutique, Sugar Shok, Two If By Sea, The Dart Gallery, New Scotland Clothing Company, and many, many more.
Small businesses are the backbone of our community, and I spent over 20 years in the family business. When I was in business, the number one thing that small business owners needed was customers with money in their pockets. This is what will drive our economy. Budget 2016 does just that for Canadians.
I have thrown a lot of figures out there, but I want to re-emphasize the point that this budget is more about people than numbers. Budget 2016 puts people first, and delivers the help that Canadians need now. It is an essential step to restoring prosperity to the middle class. It reflects a new approach for the government, one that offers immediate help to those who need it most, and sets the course for growth for all Canadians.
Like all members of this House, I am extremely proud of my community. I am proud of its successes, from Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, to Craig Blake, who gave his life for his country.
I am proud of our amazing waterfront and our beautiful Shubenacadie Canal system, miles and miles of trails in Shubie Park, and the saltmarsh trails in Cole Harbour.
I could not be more proud of our young entrepreneurs opening shops on every corner, our festivals, and our events. I am proud of events like the Epic Canadian road race, and the International SEDMHA hockey tournament, the largest hockey tournament in Atlantic Canada. These are true Dartmouth success stories.
I am proud that our citizens have named two of our most recent newest harbour ferries after soldiers who died serving their country.
Budget 2016 is an ambitious, long-term plan to strengthen the heart of Canada's economy, the middle class.