Mr. Speaker, it is indeed an honour and a privilege to rise in this House today to share some comments on today's supply day motion. Supply day motions are an opportunity for us, as the opposition, to hold the government to account. There sure is a lot to hold the government to account on. Just look at the litany of tax increases it has undertaken in the three short years it has been in office, as clearly articulated by the mover of this motion, the hon. member for Carleton.
Canadians in my riding of Perth—Wellington, and indeed Canadians across the country, are noticing this. They are noticing this because time and time again they see the government spending more money than it takes in. They see a government that promised, in the election campaign, teeny tiny deficits of $10 billion. It promised $10 billion for three short years, and by 2019, this very year, it would be back in the black. It promised Canadians, hand over heart, three short years of deficits, and then we would be back to balanced budgets. Of course, that did not happen.
This opposition day motion lays out very clearly the views of this opposition when it comes to the government's tax increases. We want a clear commitment, in writing, that the Liberals will cease their tax increases on Canadians. Canadians in my riding of Perth—Wellington and Canadians across the country are finding the cost of living to be going up. At the end of each month, they notice that there is not a lot left. They might be making ends meet. They might be getting by, but that is about it. They are struggling.
At the end of each month, Canadians sit down at kitchen tables across this country and look at their expenses and what they have brought in. They know, as Conservatives know, that they have to make those numbers balance. They have to make tough decisions. They have to decide whether they can put off that needed house repair for maybe that much longer. They have to decide whether they will be able to sock away a bit of money for a rainy day fund. They have to make difficult decisions for their kids and their futures. Do they have enough money that month to put a bit away for an RESP to plan for their kids' future education? Do they have a bit of money so maybe they can enrol the kids in a sporting activity, like soccer or swimming lessons, or will they have to forego that because money is tight? Parents have to make those tough decisions. Canadians have to make those tough decisions.
Small businesses have to make tough decisions. A small business owner has to decide whether there is enough left over at the end of the month to reinvest in the business or to pay himself or herself a salary that month. I have talked to small business owners in my riding, as my colleagues have talked to small business owners across the country, and they are finding it tough. They are finding it tough because of the challenges the Liberal government has put before them.
It is not just in my riding. It is in ridings across this country. In a neighbouring riding, Kitchener South—Hespeler, I have had some great conversations with the Conservative candidate there, Mr. Alan Keeso. Alan Keeso is going to be a great MP when he arrives in this House in a few short months. Alan has two master's degrees from Oxford, where he also played on the Oxford hockey team. He was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces. Most importantly, he listens to his community. He listens to his neighbours. He listens to the people on the doorstep talk about their concerns about what is happening in their community.
What he is hearing in Kitchener South—Hespeler reflects what a lot of us are hearing across the country, which is that families are finding it tough. The question of affordability is constantly there. They are concerned about a carbon tax. They are concerned that the carbon tax is going to end up being a tax on everything, that it is going to increase the cost of everyday items families rely on, such as groceries and getting to and from work. Small businesses are concerned about the other changes as well, such as increased payroll taxes, a tax on both the individual and the employer.
Alan says that families are just shaking their heads about the Liberals' spending and how they can blow so much money today, which will cause increases in taxes down the road to pay for the Liberals' mismanagement.
Alan related a story to me about a small business owner he was talking to. This particular small business owner had to let employees go because he said the incentive was gone from growing his business. That incentive is gone because of the Liberals. That is wrong. Alan told me this particular business owner, a constituent in Kitchener South—Hespeler, raised his concerns when the Liberals' tax changes were proposed two summers ago with the hon. member for Kitchener South—Hespeler. Nothing happened. He found no support from his local MP when he raised his concerns about the disastrous proposals the Liberal Minister of Finance presented for small businesses. It is absolutely shameful.
There is hope. There is hope because the Conservatives are listening. Conservatives in places like Kitchener South—Hespeler and across the country are listening to their constituents. They are listening to the concerns of Canadians. Those concerns are real.
I talked to seniors. Seniors are concerned. A lot of seniors have spent their lives preparing for their retirements, putting money away, ensuring that when the time came for them to retire they could live comfortably. They are not living extravagantly. They are not blowing their money. They are simply living and enjoying what, quite rightfully, they are entitled to. However, now that they are on a fixed income, they are concerned about what the current Liberals are going to do to their lives. They are concerned about the cost of heating their homes. They are concerned about the cost of their groceries. They are concerned about the cost of medication as well, which is not going to be helped by the concessions of the Liberals in the recent NAFTA negotiations.
The Liberals are offering them false and I would dare say dishonest hope when they flout their changes to the CPP. In fact, the changes proposed to the payroll tax increases to CPP will not come into play in full degree until 2065, offering a false hope to today's seniors.
We all know that today's budget deficits are tomorrow's tax increases. According to the Department of Finance's own numbers, the budget will not be balanced until 2040.
I have three young kids, Ainsley, Bennett and Caroline. Ainsley, my four-year old, will be 26 years old by the time the budget is finally balanced. My nine-month old, Caroline, will be 22 years old. She will be graduating from university by the time the budget is finally balanced. Their generation will be paying the tax increases caused by the nearly $1 trillion in debt that will exist by the year 2040. Year after year, that debt and debt financing are not going toward investments with respect to the concerns of Canadians. It will not help to build infrastructure in rural communities, in places like Mapleton, St. Marys, Perth South, Listowel, Mitchell, Stratford or Milverton. They are not building infrastructure. Money is being wasted on increased deficit and debt financing charges because the current Liberals have not lived within their means.
Canadians were sold a bill of goods in 2015. They were promised three short years and a return to a balanced budget by 2019. That has not happened.
The Conservatives will always stand up for Canadian taxpayers. Come October 2019, we will once again tell Canadians that we will be standing on the side of Canadian families, taxpayers and small business owners.