Peter MacKay

[Committees of the House, December 13th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the comments of a grade 5 student serve us well at times in this place. I think we need to step back sometimes from the economic debate and talk about, in very real and straightforward terms, how this impacts on Canadians in their everyday lives. They want to have a quality of life. They do want to have more take home money at the end of the work week. Clearly this young student is hearing around the dinner table and the breakfast table that his parents are suffering and are not getting a return on their hard work.

The government had an opportunity in this budget, as it has had in every budget, to bring taxes down and allow Canadians to keep more of their dollars, but that did not happen. We have seen the government time and again leave the taxes as they are, or in fact increase taxes as it did in this budget. It has put a surtax on travel. That is, in many ways, another job punishing tax. Because of the geographic size and the challenges of this country in terms of its massive land mass, people need to travel. Now, on top of income tax, on top of GST and on top of taxes in every walk of life, they must pay another surtax. We are already paying taxes at airports in the form of airport improvement taxes. As a result of this budget, there is another $2.4 billion tax grab by the government. Who will it affect? It will affect working Canadians, Canadians who have to travel as a result of their work or to be with their families during the holidays. It could not come at a worse time.

The young student in British Columbia shares the concerns at a very early age that many in this place will continue to work to resolve. However this young man will inherit a huge debt if we do not find a way to not only bring down taxes but to bring down the massive deficit that will continue to be there unless we are more prudent about how money is spent.

[Committees of the House, December 13th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I assume the member is talking about the party which he was once a member. As for being in a deficit, it depends on whose books we look at. Many economists are saying that we are in a deficit now. I take much of the member's comment with a grain of salt. What we would certainly have done was put money in priority areas that were different from those chosen by the government. We certainly would have put more money into the military.

The government's own appointed auditor general suggested that our armed forces need over $1 billion a year for the next five years, as opposed to what has been offered up, which is $1 billion spread out over five years. The armed forces will continue to decline and continue to face situations where they will go off to defend Canada's interests and to defend freedom with ill-equipped ships, poor radar equipment and guns, and lacking the basic things such as clothing and battle fatigues. Those things are clearly not a priority for the government.

It is interesting that this particular member would attach himself to this budget with such great aplomb given that he, like the Minister of Canadian Heritage, promised to get rid of the GST.

Yes, I very much attach myself to his former government, the Progressive Conservative government. It had the intellectual and internal fortitude to bring in a tax that was meant to bring down the deficit, that his Minister of Finance now likes to wrap his hands around as being responsible for. It happened in spite of what he has done, not because of what he has done.

[Committees of the House, December 13th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to be here today to speak on this particular matter that results from a motion stemming from the “Securing Our Future” report that came from the Standing Committee on Finance.

I want to take a moment to congratulate the member for Kings--Hants and all members of the standing committee for the effort that went into these prebudget consultations. The report, to a large degree, provided Canadians and all the political parties here in the House with the opportunity to have some input into the budget. Unfortunately much of that input and that information was ignored and put to one side because of competing political interests and agendas that relate directly to the Liberal leadership race.

The Minister of Finance brought forward a budget to great acclaim. There was much ballyhoo about this particular budget which was presented almost two years after the last budget. I note with interest that this is the seventh budget, I believe, since 1994 and it is the seventh budget that refuses to follow through on that initial promise of getting rid of the GST. This of course was directly linked to much of the acclaim and the credit that the Minister of Finance would like to garner for himself and his government. However, it is those revenues that have allowed the government to balance the books and to claim to have slain the deficit. Those budgetary surpluses are a direct credit to the previous administration, not this administration.

I would be loath not to point out that the Liberal government campaigned vigorously against that particular policy. It spared no opportunity to eviscerate the previous government for suggesting that it would bring in a services tax that was directly intended, I note, to bring down the deficit at that time.

Many people in the Chamber will recall the olympian back-flip of the current minister of heritage when she suggested that if her government did not get rid of the GST she would resign immediately. Well, she did resign but she ran again. It is the same example for the Leader of the Opposition who has repeated that copout by resigning only to run again, but I digress.

The budget comes up short on a number of levels, particularly with regard to the Canadian military and in addressing the issues of productivity and failing productivity. Sadly, there was ample opportunity in this budget to address many of these issues that predate September 11, for as sad and horrific as those events were, there were many issues that pointed directly to a lagging economy and to the need for the Minister of Finance and for the government to look ahead and reflect a little bit on what the government's fiscal plan was going to be.

Mr. Speaker, I should indicate that I will be splitting my time with my colleague in the coalition, the hon. member for Prince George--Peace River.

Another telling comment was made in the Chamber this week by the Minister of Finance. He stated, “what is important in a budget is the way in fact it is received by the public”. It is a very sad commentary and a telling one as to the priorities or the lack of priorities. It points directly to that age old Liberal adage of being like a windsock, driven in terms of finding out what the priorities of the people are and then giving them what they want, not necessarily what they need.

According to the minister, the budget should be judged simply by the polls and by public opinion. Yet I think most Canadians, if we polled them in their homes and in their places of work, would be quick to point out that there were a lot of things that they would have liked to have seen in this budget completely ignored. My colleagues in the NDP have raised the issue of agriculture, as have members of the coalition and other members in the House.

Agriculture seems to have been given zero contemplation in terms of a budgetary allocation. In fisheries, numerous individuals in the riding of Pictou--Antigonish-Guysborough continue to struggle in that lifelong occupation of working on the sea.

The town of Canso is facing a crisis, to quote the minister of multiculturalism. As we speak, the town of Canso is facing near extinction if the Seafreez plant in that community leaves.

Those are the sorts of practical difficulties with which Canadians are dealing. Will they have a job? If they do not have a job, will they be able avail themselves of the employment insurance that they paid into? Much like the CPP, which is allocated for a specific purpose, to sustain individuals in their retirement or if they are so unfortunate as to be unable to work because of health reasons, the employment insurance program was intended specifically to sustain people when they were out of work. This is an issue we are all too familiar with in Atlantic Canada, and in many regions of the country, such as Quebec, Saskatchewan and right across the country. This is still a huge problem for our people. This again relates directly to productivity, to businesses being able to be productive, to provide employment and and to provide opportunities.

The EI surplus as it stands is ballooning. It is somewhere in the range of $36 billion to $38 billion and it is continuing to accumulate. Individuals, employers and employees are paying into the fund at the rate of $2.05 per $100. There was an opportunity to bring that down further, to allow people to keep more of their hard earned money in their pockets, but those phrases are becoming trite now because it is not happening.

As a result, an opportunity has been missed to tax people less, to let them keep more of their money rather than follow this ballooning idea that we can take money from people in volumes and then give it back to them in a very patronizing way and tell them how their money would be best spent.

I think most Canadians are crystal clear in their minds as to how they would like to spend their money. They would like to pay down their mortgages, provide for their children, put money away perhaps for their children's education, simply live and pay for their oil.

Speaking of oil, we know the auditor general was quick to identify a number of wasteful areas. All governments have suffered from that. There is no pride in pointing out that any one administration was trouble free when it came to government waste, but the auditor general clearly identified that in 16 departments over $16 billion could have been cut in terms of waste.

One of the areas identified was the heating oil rebate. That is not to say that individuals were not entitled to money back, but on the list were individuals who were deceased or who were living outside the country, and some of them were university students living in residence and not paying heating bills. It is indicative of the poor management of taxpayers' money.

Another area of savings I would be quick to point out would be the gun registry. I know there are polls but it all depends on how the question is asked: “Are you in favour of gun control?” Everyone is in favour of gun control but are we in favour of registering long guns at a cost of $700 million? That is another question altogether.

The $130 billion figure in the budget is staggering and hard to contemplate. For the Minister of Finance to stand in his place in the House of Commons and suggest that there was no area in which there could have been cuts, no savings found in the presentation of the budget, insults every Canadian's intelligence.

The productivity crisis that I referred to in my opening remarks is at a very serious level. There was no reduction offered in the budget on investment killing capital taxes, no reduction in the payroll taxes and no reduction in the basic yearly exemption, which is particularly germane to students in the country who in the summer months seek employment, some who make barely $3,000 that would be applied to their education and yet they are taxed on that amount.

I would suggest as well that there is certainly room to raise the basic personal exemption to $12,000 at a minimum. If one is making $12,000, one cannot afford to live in this country. The working poor deserved a break but they did not get it in the budget.

[Committees of the House, December 13th, 2001]

Madam Speaker, I listened with great care to the hon. member's comments on the budget. I know that people in his part of the world, like in all parts of the country, are extremely concerned about how his government is spending taxpayers' dollars.

The Minister of Finance produced a budget which in essence had $130 billion worth of taxpayers' money that was to be allocated, yet in his comments he referred to the fact that there was no area in which there could have been cuts to government spending. There was no area whatsoever that the Minister of Finance could identify that would have saved taxpayers money. He as much as said so. He as much as said that there were no areas where he felt there was an ability to trim government spending, yet the member asked rhetorically where some of that spending could be cut.

I would suggest that one place to start would have been the $700 million that has been poured into the ill–fated, unenforceable gun registry system. I know it is extremely unpopular, particularly in the north, in the area the member represents.

Another area that springs to mind is the $1 billion that seems to have gone unaccounted for in last year's HRDC budget. Incidentally, the finance minister took it upon himself, not in this budget but in the last one, to actually increase that blank cheque that went to that minister's department after she exhibited reckless spending within her department.

The auditor general identified $16 billion in 16 departments that could have been cut. That would have been a starting point. We have to look no further than the auditor general, who is an officer of this parliament, to identify some of those areas.

Another area that springs to mind is the $1.4 billion that was sent out in home heating oil rebates which made its way to some notorious places, such as some prisoners. Students who were living in residence also received them, but that is not to say that students do not deserve some kind of funding from the government. People living outside the country and deceased people were recipients of the cheques. My understanding is that of the $1.4 billion, over $250,000 did not make it into the hands of those who actually should have been receiving it. John Diefenbaker may have received a cheque.

These are just a few suggestions I have in response to the hon. member's rhetorical question.

My question to the member is, does he not associate himself with the auditor general's report? Does he not agree that there has to be somewhere in that $130 billion where even a dollar could have been trimmed to save taxpayers money this year?

[The Budget, December 12th, 2001]

The arrogance is rubbing off on you.

[The Budget, December 12th, 2001]

Madam Speaker, in response to the last issue of CPP not being a tax increase and being in a separate fund, that is initially what the EI fund was supposed to be about and we know what happened there. It has ballooned into a huge surplus and has been used however the finance minister wants to use it.

Many people have indicated that the economic stability of a country is somewhat measured by the stability of the dollar. Under the finance minister we have seen the dollar go to record lows. The value of the dollar is a reflection of the value and merit of the finance minister's job. How does the hon. member explain the fact that the Canadian dollar under his finance minister's management has gone to record lows?

[The Budget, December 12th, 2001]

It was $38 billion.

[Employment Insurance, December 12th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the recent recession has resulted in numerous layoffs throughout the country. The Trenton steel works plant in Nova Scotia has been hit especially hard. Many workers have been laid off since last May leaving only a skeleton crew at the plant. As Christmas approaches their EI benefits are coming to an end leaving angst and apprehension for the new year.

In the United States President Bush has been extending EI benefits to help workers affected by the downturn in the economy. Yet in Canada the Liberal government prefers to use the EI fund for its own special interests.

The Liberal budget failed to address the crippling EI and CPP premiums which are a tax grab and devastating to employees, employers and businesses like Trenton Works.

There is a $36 billion surplus in the EI fund that continues to be exploited for a purpose that it was not intended for. If the government refuses to lower EI and CPP premiums, it should at least return some of the surplus to the workers by extending EI benefits and programs for those who have lost their jobs in this economic downturn.

It is disturbing. It is terrible to be without work and certainty before Christmas.

[The Budget, December 11th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I will afford some time for my Bluenose colleague from Nova Scotia.

I am very encouraged to hear the position set out by my colleague from the NDP with respect to the lack of funding and the lack of attention given to coastal security. We have the deployment of navy ships to the gulf now and there is a lack of funding for traditional coast guard operations, including navigational equipment and person power, much of which has been privatized, with many of those responsibilities being contracted out. I know that in the county of Guysborough in particular more cuts are pending, even in light of and in the face of the existing increased security threat. As my colleague from Newfoundland and Labrador suggested, our coastal borders and our security on the water are virtually undefended at this time.

My question to the hon. member is with regard to the growing surplus in the EI fund. The NDP in particular has been very quick to point out that this money has been absconded with and used for a cause for which it was never intended. It is not even available to many workers. With pending layoffs at Trenton Steel fabrication in Pictou county, this is of great concern. What sorts of parameters should be put on the use of that money in terms of how it is available to workers?

[The Budget, December 11th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague from British Columbia on her speech in the House. She has pointed out yet another Olympian style backflip that was performed by members of the government on any number of issues, including the GST. I note that this is the seventh consecutive budget where the government has failed to do good on a promise to repeal the GST.

More to the point, her commentary dealt with the issue of education as well. The hon. member opposite who is chortling would point to that as a provincial jurisdiction, as well. However surely there is ample evidence in the House of students, pages who are here struggling under student debt, who will leave their institution of higher learning with the equivalent of a mortgage and no house to go to. This again is an issue that has been drastically underfunded and ignored by successive budgets that we have seen in this place.

The issue with respect to the coast guard has also been pointed out by members of the House. The other issue is agriculture, which was also ignored.

Finally, I want to put a question to the member just so the record is clear with respect to her party and her leader's position with respect to military funding. This is an issue where many analysts, members of the opposition and members of the government have commented that this budget does not come up to par.

The auditor general called for a $1.3 billion injection of cash to bring our military back to competitiveness and to procurement readiness. We know the helicopter issue is still being kicked around like a political football to avoid buying the same helicopters that were cancelled.

Is it now the NDP's position that we should be following the advice of the auditor general and increasing military spending over the next number of years so that our armed forces can keep their NATO and UN commitments?