Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise this evening. You have a worried Canadian before you today. I am worried about the future of this country's economy, and I am especially worried about the debt that my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will have to pay one day.
Right before Christmas, on December 23, the Minister of Finance tabled a very troubling document, which indicated that, if nothing changes, Canada is headed toward a $1.5-trillion debt by 2050, and, if nothing changes, we would only return to a balanced budget by 2055. The government was so proud of this document that it only released it a few hours before Christmas. Even worse, it was kept from Canadians for 10 weeks.
If I should have the good fortune one day of becoming a minister and a member of cabinet, and I have a document that is to my advantage, I will quickly release it. However, if it is not to my advantage, I will put it in my desk and try to forget about it. That is what the government tried to do when it sat on the document for 10 weeks.
When we were in government just barely 16 months ago, we left the house in order. We had a $2.9-billion surplus, the best debt-to-GDP ratio of the G7, and the lowest tax burden for Canadians in 50 years. That is our record.
The Liberals got elected by promising small deficits of $10 billion for three years, but we now know that these deficits are likely to be three times higher than that. The Liberals also promised to balance the budget in 2019. However, the Department of Finance has shown that the Liberals are going to miss their target by 36 years. Any lowly accountant working for a small business who was off by 36 years would be quickly shown the door. Let us hope that Canadians will do the same two and a half years from now.
The Liberals also promised revenue-neutral tax changes. That is untrue. The changes they proposed are going to cost $1.8 billion more than the taxes we are asking Canadians to pay. In addition, 65% of Canadian workers are not affected by this government's so-called extraordinary tax changes.
Humble people who earn $45,000 a year or less will not see any changes to their taxes. Those who earn $65,000 a year will see a little more money in their pockets, namely $2.50 a week. That is not exactly an extraordinary tax change. In fact, those who will benefit the most from these tax changes are Canadians who earn between $145,000 and $200,000 a year. That is hardly the middle class.
The same goes for money for children. Again today, the minister very proudly stated that this generosity toward Canadian children was unprecedented. The Liberals can certainly afford to be generous. They are giving away money they do not even have. It is easy to give away money one does not have. That is known as a deficit or a debt, but what it really is is bad management.
The government is also going after businesses by imposing the Liberal carbon tax, hiking their Canada pension plan outlays, maintaining the high business tax rate despite pledging to reduce it to 9%, and moving to eliminate business tax credits.
As a Canadian, I am very worried because the government's spending appears to be completely out of control. Fifteen times now, I have asked the government when it will balance the budget, but it has never been able to answer me. I rise in the House every day to ask which tax credits it is planning to cut next, but it cannot tell us. Things are being kept hidden that should be brought to light.