Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the Minister of Finance for once again introducing a budget that would put us on track for jobs, growth and long-term prosperity.
Low taxes are an integral part of our budget, and we are on track to balance the budget by 2015-2016. Economic action plan 2013 would announce more savings in government spending, totalling $2 billion by 2015-2016. We would implement a number of very important measures here.
I would also like to talk about how our economic action plan would help Manitoba, and indeed all the provinces of Canada, manage the important infrastructure demands and services to Canadians that are so important to our country's economic well-being. Federal support to the provinces has reached historic levels of $62 billion. Federal support to Manitoba is at an all-time high of $3.4 billion, up 21% from under the previous Liberal government.
Indeed, the total Manitoba provincial budget is funded 40% by the federal government, and it is still raising taxes. Our Conservative government has done this while keeping taxes low and maintaining the transfers. Unlike the high-taxing NDP and Liberals, our Conservative government believes in low taxes and leaving more money where it belongs: in the pockets of hard-working Canadian families and job-creating businesses.
Since 2006, we have cut taxes more than 150 times, reducing the overall tax burden to its lowest level in 50 years. While the NDP opposite thinks governments can spend money better than citizens, it is our firm belief that citizens should spend as much of their own money as possible.
We have cut taxes in every way the government collects them, including personal taxes, consumption taxes, businesses taxes, excise taxes and much more. This has meant savings of more than $3,000 per year to the average family of four. We have done all this while maintaining the transfers to the provinces.
We stand in stark contrast to the NDP Government of Manitoba and its NDP colleagues in Ottawa. The Manitoba NDP is now raising the provincial sales tax to 8% to pay for its years of fiscal recklessness. Its federal leader in the House wants to create a carbon tax to generate another $21 billion for further irresponsible spending.
Manitobans and Canadians are quickly coming to realize that the tax and spend ways of the NDP are not sustainable. To repeat an important point, one simply cannot spend oneself rich.
We can see the difference in approaches when we look at Manitoba versus Saskatchewan. A two-income family of four earning $60,000 in Saskatchewan will pay an estimated $1,593 to its provincial government in income taxes, PST and the gas tax. The same family in Manitoba earning $60,000 will pay a mind-boggling $4,525 in taxes to the Manitoba NDP government.
Our Conservative government has taken the alternate path for the past seven years. We have paid down $37 billion of the debt. Our fiscal responsibility and aggressive debt reduction have placed Canada in the very best possible position to weather the global recession. This is something the NDP simply does not understand.
It is in our country's best interests to have a strong fiscal position to weather any downturns that may occur. While other countries continue to struggle with debt that is spiralling out of control, Canada is in the best fiscal position in the G7. Our net debt to GDP ratio is 35.8%, the lowest level among G7 countries.
While the NDP and Liberals want to engage in reckless spending, our Conservative government is on track to return to balanced budgets in 2015-2016. That plan is working. Indeed, in the last two years, we have cut the deficit by more than half.
Budget 2013 would build on these efforts to reduce government spending, by announcing an additional $1.7 billion in ongoing savings. Overall, measures taken by this government since budget 2010 would result in total ongoing savings of roughly $14 billion. Unlike the parties opposite, the Liberals and the NDP, and I assume the Greens, our Conservative government will not raise taxes on Canadians to balance the budget.
What are the benefits to my home province of Manitoba? We have the Canada jobs grant to help more Canadians find high-quality and well-paying jobs. We have tax breaks for manufacturers who buy new machinery, and an extended hiring credit for small businesses. There is a record $70 billion of federal investment into infrastructure across Canada over the last few years.
There are major investments in research and technology and new tax relief for Canadians who give to charities, adopt a child or rely on home care services. Import tax tariffs have been eliminated on many everyday items that Canadian families buy.
Economic action plan 2013 also confirmed the Conservative government's continued all-time record support for hospitals, schools and other important health and social services. In 2013, the federal transfer support to Manitoba is planned to be $643 million higher than under the former Liberal government.
My province tends to flood from time to time, given our geographic location; our government has also delivered $100 million in advance payments to the Province of Manitoba for the flood of 2011 under the Disaster Financial Assistance Act. It is estimated that once all the costs have been tallied, the federal government's share will be close to $500 million under the DFAA. Our Conservative government has gone beyond that by announcing another $99 million for flood mitigation across Canada in 2012 to help prevent future damage to infrastructure, homes and farms.
In terms of agriculture, we are doubling the current deduction limit under the restricted farm loss income tax rules from $8,700 to over $17,500. This is of huge benefit to many young producers and farm families when some members work off the farm and may have built up farm losses.
We are increasing the lifetime capital gains exemption to $800,000 from $750,000. This would make it easier for our Canadian farmers to plan for their retirement and transfer family farms to the next generation.
We are investing $165 million in Genome Canada, which has developed new technologies for the agricultural sector.
In terms of environmental initiative, I would like to compliment my colleague from West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country. He listed some of the incredible environmental initiatives that our government has undertaken. As the chair of the Conservative hunting and angling caucus, I am proud of the $10 million that has been announced for work on fisheries conservation projects in partnership with local fisheries conservation groups. This is something that our hunting and angling caucus has asked for, and it would create tremendous environmental benefits across the country. As a fisheries biologist myself, I can say that this program will do wonders for our recreational fisheries.
I would note, contrary to what the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands said, that these kinds of partnerships are now allowed under the new Fisheries Act, and we will see clear, delivered conservation benefits because of our new Fisheries Act. In terms of the environment, that is the difference between this side of the House and the other parties opposite. The Conservative environmental policy generates real, measurable environmental results on the ground; the other side just talks.
We have supported clean technologies. The Nature Conservancy of Canada would receive $20 million for the acquisition of very important lands across the country. We want to make sure that the superb work of such groups as the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Ducks Unlimited Canada and the Delta Waterfowl Foundation is recognized.
I would also note that under the previous Liberal government, greenhouse gas emissions increased by a staggering 30%. We were the first government in Canadian history to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
I would also like to point out that there is a clear relationship between how wealthy a country is and how well it does in terms of environmental protection. That is why environmental quality in free market, democratic, capitalist countries is immeasurably better than in socialist countries. Socialist left-wing governments may talk about the environment or not, but the end result is a trashing of it.
As a country gets richer, it invests more in environmental protection and generates more and better environmental results. That is why, under the economic policies of this government that allow our economy and our wealth to grow, we will see measurable environmental improvement under this government for many years to come.
