Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to rise today to speak to Bill C-71, the budget implementation act of 1999. The premise today is that it is a great budget that will be easy to implement because it was a great process.
It is on the ground that problems are felt, it is on the ground that real solutions are formulated and it is on the ground that budgets are implemented. I hope we will never return to the day when ministers of finance and a few close advisors cloister themselves and then come out of their perceived telephone booths to announce to Canadians what they think is good for Canadians. We know that does not work. People do not want to be told what is good for them when they have not been included in the process.
I have been pretty fortunate to have come from an institution like Women's College Hospital. Women's College Hospital had the motto “Non quo sed quo modo”, meaning that it is not only what we do but how we do it. It is very interesting that when we have a motto such as that we actually look at the way we do things.
In the federal budget there are two hows: how we decide what we want and how we do what we want. It was indeed the process in terms of how we decide what we want, the thorough consultation and rigorous analysis of this budget, that has ensured its relevance to Canadians and thereby its success in implementation.
It is a feminist theory, if we are allowed to use that term, which I am proud to use, that is actually part of inclusive decision making. One of my great heroes, Ursula Franklin, once told a story of being invited to a PD day at a school. She insisted that all of the staff be included. The teachers thought that maybe just the faculty should be included. However, because the topic of the day was identifying children at risk, Ursula felt that she would like to have all of the staff there.
It was quite interesting that as they began the day, within the first half hour the janitor put up his hand and said “I know kids from violent homes because they are on the doorstep when I open up the school in the morning”. It was in the next half hour that the Jamaican cook put up her hand and said “I know who the kids are who are hungry because they help me clear the plates. I know they are eating the scraps on the way to the kitchen”.
It is only through inclusive decision making that we end up with a result that is relevant and one which we can implement.
As a new member of the finance committee I was truly impressed with the inclusive nature of the process, with the thoughtful and impressive deputations and with the ability to analyse problems, present solutions that had been tried in other jurisdictions, present the risk of doing nothing and the rationale for government to invest in these solutions.
We heard from the grassroots across the country. We heard from the researchers, the policy analysts and the business community. We heard concerns of health care, brain drain, decreasing disposable income and our debt. We also heard their solutions. They felt that reinvestment in health care was imperative. They felt that we should reinvest in research, target tax relief and get our debt to GDP in line. We heard from all of the partners whom we will need to implement these policies.
On February 16 the Minister of Finance presented what I think was a brilliantly crafted balance of the solutions presented. The availability of resources were allocated according to the priorities stated by Canadians. Health care was without a doubt number one. Our most valued social program received the major investment.
It was clear that just money would not ensure the restoration of Canadians' confidence in the system. Experts, including the National Forum on Health, have been very clear. There has to be real accountability for the dollars spent. There have to be dollars for a health information system that will begin that process. The Canadian Institute of Health Research will begin the exemplary process of co-ordinating research in the broadest definition of health from the molecule to the community. We will be able to look at health promotion, disease prevention and treatment and research into best practices in health care delivery. We know that best practices could save an additional $7 billion a year.
The 1999 budget was exciting because of the other how also, the second how of how we do things. That is the landmark agreement of the social union. It will begin a process by which the federal and provincial governments will commit to a new transparent method of delivering programs. They will have to report their outcomes to Canadians.
Our Prime Minister's commitment to getting the health accord and the social union signed has rendered the dollars assigned in this budget even more important. Canadians can now be assured that every dollar will go as far as it possibly can. Evaluation and accountability are now imperative. The new social union framework values Canadians' equality, respect for diversity, fairness, individual dignity and responsibility, mutual aid and our responsibility for one another. These things have been agreed upon.
It is no longer the survival of the fittest in this big cold country. A long time ago we decided that we would look after one another. We are not going to be asking levels of government to report to one another; we are asking all levels of government to report to Canadians.
That all Canadians are created equal and should be treated equal and equal per Canadian funding was a principle of the social union.
We have to meet the needs of Canadians with sustaining social programs and services. We have reaffirmed the Canada Health Act in active participation in a social and economic life.
The second principle was mobility. This will allow Canadians to pursue opportunities. It ensures what is so important, that a Canadian is a Canadian.
The third premise which is extremely important is the public accountability and transparency in terms of getting the health information systems, achieving and measuring results, involvement of Canadians and ensuring fair and transparent practices. It is this point that will make every dollar spent in the budget go that much further.
Working in partnership for Canadians, joint planning and collaboration, reciprocal notice and consultation was the fourth aspect.
The fifth aspect was a proper clarification of the federal spending power. This means that dollars assigned in a federal budget have been predetermined and will be easily implemented. Dispute avoidance and resolution was obviously important, as was the three year review.
In my riding there was great debate before the budget about giving dollars to the provinces in the CHST. One very adamant constituent was very clear at our prebudget consultation that we were not to just give money to Mr. Harris.
The signing of the social union health accord has been a tremendous step forward for our federalism. Canadians need to feel confident that dollars dedicated for health care would be spent on health care. The commitment to transparency is imperative to rebuild the confidence of Canadians. It makes me very optimistic in terms of the truly positive role for government.
Social union will ensure that Canadians will continue to be consulted to set their social priorities. The federal and provincial governments have to make sure that it happens. It is only in that way that we get to deal properly with the tough issues like the preschool development of our children, homelessness, and persons with disabilities which cross all ministries and all levels of government.
Last week in St. Paul's we had a town hall meeting with the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. We also had a panel consisting of Lorne Sossin, a constitutional lawyer; Barbara Cameron, a professor of political science from York University; Martha Friendly, a child care researcher; and Andrew Coyne. It was an interesting debate in St. Paul's, a riding that is known for caring desperately about the big picture and putting Canada first.
It came from that meeting how complex our federalism is and how important it is that we deal with a matrix of responsibilities, accountabilities, but together set some real objectives as to what it means to be a Canadian and what we care about. It is imperative that we move forward with our partners, the private sector, the third sector and our provincial colleagues.
We have our choices, our policy levers and our incentives and our programs. We actually continue to ask Canadians at election time what they care about. We tell them how we interpreted that in our speech from the throne, but it is at budget time where we get to set the priorities that came forward with the dollars that have been allocated.
This budget was a balanced one. It reflected the true priorities of Canadians as they said to us. Therefore it will be an extraordinarily easy budget to implement because the people implementing it were the people involved in deciding what was there.
