Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the hon. member for Red Deer—Mountain View, for sharing his speaking time with me this morning.
It is an honour to stand today as the elected representative of the North Okanagan—Shuswap. In recent weeks, I have heard members on the government side speaking of being proud of the budget that was tabled by the Minister of Finance on March 22. At every mention of this apparent pride, I find myself asking how they can be so proud of this budget. How can the Liberals be proud of promising one thing and delivering something totally different, delivering a deficit much larger than what they said they would limit themselves to in the election campaign, promises made and promises broken? It is hardly something to of which to be proud.
The bogus pride does not end there. During the election campaign, the Liberals also told the people of Canada that the Liberal government would “return Canada to a balanced budget in 2019”. Yet in budget 2016, it is completely silent on this promise and is vacant of any vision of returning our nation to a balanced budget. Surely, if the Liberals had a plan to deliver on their promise of a balanced budget in 2019, they would have put at least one line in their 269-page budget to say so.
Sadly, the government appears to be dodging another promise it made to Canadians and has no plan on how to pay back this out-of-control borrowing and spending. The people of Canada want results from their government. The hard-working women and men of this nation, who go off to their jobs day in and day out, and their children are the ones who are now on the hook to repay this Liberal deficit. If all taxpayers must share in the weight of this debt, then it should stand to reason that all taxpayers should receive equitable benefits from this spending.
Canadians deserve to know how the government plans to spend and ensure that this deficit spending is disbursed in an equitable fashion from coast to coast to coast, in rural and urban communities alike. Yet we wait for any details on how this budget will help those taxpayers and who will carry the cost. When can Canadians expect to see the infrastructure projects move ahead in their communities? When can Canadians expect to see some benefit from the burden of debt the Liberals have placed and surprised taxpayers with on March 22?
It is clear the Liberals have a plan to spend to a much higher deficit than they committed themselves to, but it is not clear when Canadians can expect to see improvements to their highways and bridges, water and sewer treatment projects, low-income housing, and the list goes on and on.
I believe that balanced budgets are both appropriate and possible. My home province of British Columbia is proof that it is possible. Now, with consecutive balanced budgets, my home province has created an atmosphere of certainty, predictability, and responsibility that continues to encourage private investment, spurring on job creation and economic growth. I am happy and proud to live in a province where business investment continues to be strong, but I wonder how long that might continue if the federal government cannot manage our country's finances and uphold the confidence of business. After all, it is business, not government deficit, that is the true driver of economic growth.
In budget 2016, the Trudeau government had an opportunity to provide some stability for the economy and reassurance for investors and business owners. Instead, the Trudeau budget has delivered a cloud of uncertainty that—