Mr. Speaker, I will be dividing my time with the hon. member for Calgary Centre.
This being my first issue based speech in the 39th Parliament, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the voters of Fleetwood—Port Kells for their unrelenting confidence and trust in me. It is an honour and a privilege to continue representing them in Parliament. On behalf of my constituents today, I rise to participate in the debate on the budget.
I would like to congratulate the finance minister for so eloquently presenting a vision of Canada that reflects the needs of every Canadian, facilitates accountability and helps us further progress into an even greater nation.
We have heard the opposition parties paradoxically rebuff this budget. Some members have argued that the government has cut too much tax, others that we have raised taxes. For some we are spending too much and for others we are not spending enough.
The members opposite cannot decide how to criticize the budget because they believe in it. They are doing nothing more than playing partisan politics. The truth is that this budget will move Canada further.
Today I would like to focus on the areas of the budget that are important to my constituents in the city of Surrey and British Columbia. The budget focuses on the priorities of Fleetwood—Port Kells, Surrey and British Columbia.
To ensure safer streets and safe communities, this budget is providing $161 million for 1,000 more RCMP officers and federal prosecutors. This is crucial to the crime laden Lower Mainland. Gun and drug crimes, marijuana grow ops and theft are crippling our communities. In fact, Surrey has garnered the bad reputation of being the auto theft capital of North America. We have already heard the justice minister outline the government's plan to strengthen the criminal justice system and the influx of money for more police officers will aid in this effort.
Since I was first elected I have reiterated my concern over drug and gun crimes throughout the Lower Mainland. Drug dealers are manufacturing marijuana and crystal meth in increasing quantities. These drugs make their way into the hands of children and teens. This is a classic example of the need for mandatory minimum prison sentences. Criminals engaging in organized crime with such disregard for the safety of children should not have the opportunity to reoffend or continue to plague our streets. The budget will allocate desperately needed resources to help the RCMP fight a new war on drugs.
Surrey, like all communities, deserves nothing less than a zero tolerance policy toward crime with such a dangerous combination of drugs, banned weapons and violence. I am glad that the budget demonstrates the government's awareness of this fact.
Another issue of paramount importance in my riding is infrastructure. In this budget we see that British Columbia is finally receiving the respect it deserves. We are ensuring that British Columbia receives its fair share of transportation and infrastructure dollars, especially for critical programs such as the Pacific gateway.
Surrey is one of the fastest growing communities in all of Canada. The residents should not spend endless hours stuck in traffic. My constituents have told me what they want and what we must do. We need to twin the Port Mann Bridge. We need to build the South Fraser Perimeter Road. We must fix the 152nd Street exit.
By accomplishing these goals, Canadians will benefit, British Columbia will benefit and my constituents especially will benefit. To this extent, I am proud to reassure my constituents that this budget provides $591 million over the next eight years in the Pacific gateway initiative for improving our infrastructure.
We are also providing $2.4 billion over five years for a new highways and border infrastructure fund for improvements to the core national highway system. British Columbians, especially on the issue of infrastructure, were let down by the previous government on so many occasions with empty and broken promises.
The era of broken promises is finally over. The budget proves that we are moving in the right direction when it comes to accountability and fiscal responsibility. It puts more money into the hands of individuals and families. It strengthens our communities, our provinces and our nation.
The budget, more than any in recent history, focuses especially on the importance and the needs of new Canadians. In my riding of Fleetwood—Port Kells, one-third of the population are immigrants, and the entire Lower Mainland and the greater Vancouver area are witnessing an increasing flow of new Canadians every year. In our multiculturalism reality of Canada, immigrants can come to this nation and contribute while simultaneously being proud Canadians.
I would like to point out how portions of the budget are geared toward the needs of newcomers to Canada.
Like all Canadians, newcomers do not want their progress in Canada hindered by rising taxes. Under the previous government, Canadians watched their tax dollars wasted away, mismanaged and permeated corruption. The budget addresses the overtaxation of Canadians by delivering $20 billion in tax relief over two years. That is more tax relief than the last four budgets combined.
For the first time in more than a decade, the government has finally removed its hand from the pockets of hard-working Canadians. Instead, our budget is returning more money than ever back to Canadians. Newcomers, who have come to Canada with hopes and dreams, no longer have to worry about their tax dollars funding corruption and waste. As a result of these measures, British Columbians, as a whole, will pay $1.2 billion less in taxes in 2007 alone.
Immigrants come to Canada because of the opportunity for a better life for themselves and their families. In recognizing the needs of immigrants, our government has immediately reduced the right of permanent resident fee by 50%, from $975 to $490. For those who have already prepaid the $975, we will provide a partial refund so no new Canadians feels left out of this important initiative.
We are increasing immigration settlement funding by $307 million over the next two years and we will establish a Canadian agency for the assessment and recognition of foreign credentials. We will ensure that well-educated and highly skilled new Canadians will finally receive recognition for their qualifications and experience.
These measures, coupled with a recent announcement of a full judicial inquiry into the Air-India bombing, have finally addressed some of the enduring questions my constituents have had for more than a decade.
Clearly, our government will do more to help these new Canadians get started. With the budget, Canada's new government is delivering on our campaign promises to every Canadian, including the new Canadians who were forgotten by the Liberals.
Canadians voted for change and voted for many of the programs and initiatives in the budget. I urge the members opposite to remember this fact when they vote on the budget.
