Michael Chong

[Commonwealth Youth, May 30th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I had the privilege of representing Canada at the sixth meeting of the Commonwealth youth ministers in Nassau, the Bahamas, from May 22 to 26.

The theme of the meeting was youth empowerment for the eradication of poverty, crime and violence and HIV/AIDS.

It provided an opportunity for the Government of Canada to demonstrate its commitment to the Commonwealth and to participate in discussions on topics of importance to youth in Canada and other countries in the Commonwealth.

In the final communiqué, released last Friday, the ministers transmitted a message to the Commonwealth heads of government in which they reaffirmed their commitment to youth development and empowerment as a fundamental Commonwealth goal. They recommended that the Commonwealth heads of government, at their 2007 meeting, endorse the new plan of action for youth empowerment.

That plan provides the framework for all Commonwealth youth development work in the areas of poverty eradication, democracy and good governance, HIV-AIDS, and gender equality, topics that are close to the hearts of all Canadians.

During the meeting, as Minister for Sport, I held preliminary meetings with 24 Commonwealth delegations, most of which were responsible for sport.

These bilateral meetings were invaluable in promoting Halifax as the host city for the Commonwealth Games in 2014. I took advantage of these meetings to indicate Canada's interest in hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2014, to raise awareness about Halifax's bid for the 2014 games, and to solicit support. I was also pleased that Scott Logan, chief executive officer of the Halifax bid, was able to accompany me on this trip to assist me in this effort.

Last March I was in Melbourne for the Commonwealth Games to support the Halifax bid as well. My presence in Nassau was the continuation of my determined efforts and this government's determined efforts to promote Halifax as the host city for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. I hope I can count on the support of all my colleagues in this House to ensure that this bid is successful so that the beautiful city of Halifax in the beautiful province of Nova Scotia in this great country of ours can play host to these very great games.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, May 15th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, budget 2006 invests in many areas that the hon. member questions. We have acknowledged that the previous government did make some reinvestments in post-secondary education through the Canada social transfer, which was $17 billion in tax transfers and cash. We supported that program which is why budget 2006 continues those measures.

The budget contains measures to continue with $5 billion in direct support for students through tax credits and other direct grants and loans. We support that program and we will be building on it. Budget 2006 contains additional measures to help students with the cost of their textbooks and to assist those wanting to enter the skilled trades.

However, the previous government often promised great things but it failed to deliver on them. For years aboriginal Canadians have been suffering some of the worst living conditions in our country and yet the previous government never delivered additional money for it. Budget 2006 delivers new additional money, the first new additional money in years for aboriginal communities.

The same thing goes for child care. The previous government promised for 13 years to put in place a child care system and failed to deliver on that. Budget 2006 delivers on it.

Despite the economic record of the previous Liberal government and despite the fiscal and monetary position the country is now in, why did it fail to win the faith and the confidence of the Canadian people?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, May 15th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to listen to the member for Winnipeg Centre and hear his criticisms, what he calls his anti-corporate rhetoric, his criticism of the corporate agenda and what he calls corporate welfare and the like. I cannot help but think when I listen to his rhetoric that it really echoes to another era. It is an era that many other social democratic parties, countries and provinces have moved beyond.

For example, the New Democratic government in Manitoba sees provincial corporate tax cuts as an important part of its overall agenda. Over the years, the Labour Party in the United Kingdom, under that prime minister, has moderated itself and has not embraced its anti-corporate and anti-business rhetoric of the past. They are social democratic parties, while the Conservative Party is not in that vein, and they have realized they need to work with industry and business to balance the public good with corporate interests. That is the best way forward as they see it.

Would my colleague from Winnipeg Centre comment on whether or not he sees a need for the federal New Democratic Party to do the same thing and to move beyond that and into balancing not only the public good but also corporate interests?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, May 15th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Bloc member for his comments on the budget. He said that the budget proposes measures for social housing, agriculture, infrastructure and microbreweries.

I agree with him about the budget.

Nothing is ever perfect. The budget is no exception to this rule, but it is a balanced budget. It is a focused budget in terms of its spending and it offers money for debt repayment. It is a good overall package.

As my colleague across the aisle has mentioned, there are measures in the budget for secondary education, new money for aboriginal Canadians and families with children and a new approach to environmental issues. We have seen a significant increase of 35% in emissions in Canada over the last 15 years, a record far worse than many of our fellow OECD countries. We need to tackle this.

Could my colleague comment on the budget with respect to measures that we have put in place for greater resources for provinces to deliver core services, such as the $3.3 billion in new money allocated for post-secondary education, social housing and public transit?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, May 15th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to my colleague's comments on the budget. It is interesting to contrast the start of the new Conservative government in 2006 with the start of the previous government in 1993. I think the sharpest contrast that can be drawn when we juxtaposition the two governments is that we have kept the faith with the public. We have kept the commitments we made during our election campaign.

We campaigned on a platform that we are delivering on in budget 2006. We promised to cut the GST by 1% and budget 2006 delivers on that with a 1% GST cut effective July 1. We promised to implement a universal child care benefit of $1,200 and, effective July 1, budget 2006 delivers that. We promised greater accountability and budget 2006 delivers that by putting in measures to ensure greater transparency in the budgeting process. We promised greater security to protect Canadian communities and cities and budget 2006 delivers on that with additional resources for front line police officers.

Let us contrast this budget with the budget presented in 1993 after the Liberal Party campaigned to eliminate the GST. It broke that promise. In 1993 the Liberals campaigned to scrap the free trade agreement. They broke that promise.

I wonder if the member opposite could comment on the contrast between the start of this new government and the one in 1993 as evidenced in our first budget.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, May 15th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to my colleague's comments across the way. It is highly ironic that he used the phrase “lament for a nation”. Is he aware that it was written by a famous Canadian by the name of George Grant? He lamented the fact that the over decades the Liberals had given away many of Canada's great traditions, given away what he saw as the heart and soul of what it meant to be Canadian, not simply a country limited by its geography, but a country that was also imbibed with the spirit and ideas that came out of centuries of conflict and resolution, centuries of working together across a vast, inchoate land.

Does the member know that Lament For a Nation. The Defeat of Canadian Nationalism was written by George Grant a number of decades ago? It criticized the Liberal Party and suggested that the vehicle for preserving Canada's traditions and its great past into the future was the Conservative Party?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, May 12th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Natural Resources have been working closely together on this file in collaboration with our foreign counterparts to ensure that Canada's interests are protected in this regard. In the fullness of time, I am sure that the government will come to a determination on this issue.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, May 12th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

Our government tabled, as part of the budget, a paper entitled “Restoring Fiscal Balance in Canada”. In it, one of the problems that we identified in years past under the previous government had to do with transparency in budget planning. The budget paper outlines one of the problems that we have had in recent years. The government consistently underestimated the sizes of the surpluses. At year end, March 31 each year, the provinces were always surprised at the amount of the federal surplus because the government failed to be sufficiently transparent in this regard.

For example, just before the 2004 election, Canadians were told that the budget surplus would be $1.9 billion. It turned out to be $9.1 billion, a difference of almost 400% to 500%. As a result, provinces felt that the government was not being transparent with them with regard to fiscal transfers of the federation.

Our government acknowledges the problems of the previous government with respect to transparency and budget planning. That is why we have set out to establish an independent budgetary office that would be part of the federal accountability act, so that there would be greater transparency and greater accuracy in budget planning.

We have committed to dealing with the question of fiscal balance. We have acknowledged that this is an issue across the country. Obviously, the previous government had mixed messages on it. On the one hand, it indicated that it was not an issue, but on the other hand, it signed the Atlantic accord and the May memorandum with the province of Ontario to address its concerns about fiscal and federal transfers.

Our government has said that we received the Council of the Federation report. We welcome its feedback in this regard. We have received the budget paper. We are looking forward to the expert panel on territorial and equalization financing, also called the O'Brien report, that the previous government commissioned. Over the course of the coming months in the summer, the government will consult widely with the provinces on this issue and in the fullness of time, the Prime Minister will be putting forward proposals in this regard.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, May 12th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Edmonton—Strathcona.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the voters and the citizens of Wellington—Halton Hills for giving me the privilege of representing them on the floor of the House of Commons for the second time. I am truly honoured by this trust and the confidence that the people have shown in me and I am determined to act in a manner that is consistent and worthy of that trust.

I would also like to thank all the volunteers who assisted me in the most recent campaign. Many Canadians may not realize that there are literally tens of thousands of volunteers who help out. In any particular riding, there are hundreds of volunteers who assist in election campaigns. This is time that they take off work and it is time they take away from their families to participate in our democratic and civic processes. It is a commitment they make because they believe in the importance of our parliamentary institutions and in our democracy. I want to thank them especially for taking that time helping me and our government in that regard.

Anybody who has spent time in politics also realizes the enormous burden that our jobs and our work places on our families. I would also like to thank my wife Carrie for all the commitment she has shown over the last number of years in helping me with my work.

Budget 2006 delivers on our commitments. It is a balanced budget that focuses priorities and that delivers on many of the commitments we made in the most recent election campaign, including debt reduction.

In the recent election campaign, we made a number of commitments to the Canadian people. We broke them down into our key five priorities. I am happy to say that our budget delivers on many of those commitments.

Budget 2006 gives tangible expression to the things that we told Canadians we would do. During the election we said that we would commit to certain things. We have come to this House and we have done those things. There is no greater way to restore the trust and faith of Canadians in government than to do what we said we would do during election campaigns.

One of the government's top priorities is to enhance accountability to Canadians and transparency in government operations. The federal accountability action plan published on April 11 introduces a broad range of reforms, including the establishment of a position of parliamentary budget officer and a commitment to provide quarterly updates on fiscal forecasts for the current fiscal year.

The budget offers sweeping tax relief for individual taxpayers, totalling nearly $20 million over two years. That is as much relief as was provided in the last four budgets put together. Budget 2006 provides improved assistance to Canadians and their families, to the tune of $5.2 billion over two years. Budget 2006 invests $1.4 billion over two years in protecting Canadian families and communities, ensuring border security and enhancing public health emergency preparedness.

Over the same period, the budget will provide $73 million for making our financial system safer. The government is also committed to strengthening Canada's role on the international scene by investing $1.1 billion over two years in the Canadian Forces and striving to ensure the efficiency of international aid.

In this budget, the government pledges to take immediate measures to restore fiscal balance in Canada and respond to concerns in that regard, by implementing the ten year plan to strengthen health care and—in conjunction with provincial and territorial governments—developing and introducing a wait time guarantee for necessary medical treatment, among other things.

The budget is also good news for Wellington—Halton Hills. In our area, many farmers over the last year have faced particularly devastating economic circumstances, especially farmers outside the supply managed system. They have indicated to us over the last number of years that they do need help.

Our government has responded. In the budget we fulfilled our election commitment to put an additional $500 million annually into farm income support. Budget 2006 not only delivers on that commitment, but it goes beyond that. Our government has deep roots in rural Canada and we understand the plight that farmers today face. The budget responds to those dire needs of many farmer by putting an additional $1 billion in budget 2006 into farm income support.

The total additional financial support that the Government of Canada has committed to Canadian farmers is $1.5 billion for this current fiscal year.

I am very glad I can go back to the citizens and the farmers of Wellington—Halton Hills and tell them that our government is committed to Canadian agriculture and that we will deliver on those commitments.

Like all provinces, Ontario faces infrastructure challenges. Our government made commitments during the election to help provinces and municipalities with infrastructure. The Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities has delivered on those commitments. Budget 2006 puts an additional $6.6 billion into infrastructure support: $2.4 billion for the highways and border infrastructure fund; $2 billion for the Canada strategic infrastructure fund; and $2.2 billion for the municipal rural infrastructure fund, also known as COMRIF, in Ontario.

In addition, we met our commitment during the election to continue with the previous government's gas tax commitments by committing an additional $4.4 billion over the next four years to deliver that gas tax on a per capita basis to Canada's municipalities. In budget 2006 municipalities in the province of Ontario will receive $233.9 million as part of that commitment to fulfill the gas tax.

Another area that our government fulfilled its commitment on is the environment. During the election campaign, we committed to putting in place a 15.5% federal tax credit for public transit fees. We have delivered on that commitment.

We have also delivered our commitment to support the Canadian arts and Canadian culture by committing an additional $50 million over the next two years to ensure that arts and art institutions are supported. This money will go toward the Canada Council for the Arts to ensure that it can deliver and protect Canadian culture throughout our great country.

Finally, our government has been prudent in its financial planning and we have delivered $3 billion in debt reduction for the upcoming fiscal year. Our belief is that the best way to protect social programs is to run a good fiscal program and to ensure that the fiscal and monetary situation of the country is run in such a way that the Government of Canada has adequate resources in future years to deliver the programs that Canadians so value.

In conclusion, before I take questions from members of the opposition, as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister for Sport, I am very proud on some of the commitments that our government has delivered in the budget.

The budget offers immediate assistance to the citizens living in my riding of Wellington—Halton Hills and to all Canadians.

It offers a clean plan for the future to effectively address many of the serious challenges our country faces and represents a tremendous step forward in the right direction for our great country.

[The Budget, May 12th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Peace River for working hard to ensure that budget 2006 contained measures to help families.

During the election campaign, we made commitments to create a $500 tax credit to help parents with their children's sports and physical fitness fees. Budget 2006 delivers on this commitment.

Effective January 1 next year, parents can claim these fees. This will put $160 million into community level children's sports and physical fitness. That is an average of $500,000 per riding. This is great news for Canadian children, great news for the sport community and great news for Canada.