The Budget  Mr. Speaker, the fact is that seven provinces will be receiving less in cash transfers for health care and education according to the finance minister's own staff. Every maritime government has spoken out against this except for one. That is the Prime Minister's gofer in Nova Scotia, Premier Russell MacLellan.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, there seems to be some confusion. Perhaps I was wrong when I said that Russell MacLellan did not stand up in this House for Nova Scotia because he did. He stood up to vote for cuts to health care and education in Nova Scotia. He stood up to support Bill C-68. That certainly did not help people in rural Nova Scotia.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, when the government talks about establishing floors for health care I would like it to understand that health care in Nova Scotia is subterranean. It has not reached the floor. It is still in the basement. The fact is that this government continues to cut cash transfers to seven of the ten provinces, including Nova Scotia which will receive $14 million less in cash transfers from this government over the next four years.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, today I will be splitting my time with the member for Madawaska—Restigouche. When I heard the comments earlier and the buoyant optimism of the member for Thornhill about the budget and I heard the comments from the member for Acadie—Bathurst about the pain and suffering in his riding and the inadequacies of the budget in addressing those pains and sufferings, it reminded me that three of the Atlantic provincial governments, two of which are Liberal, have come out against the budget.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, yesterday Canadians were waiting to see this imaginary surplus. Instead they had to witness the tax and cut Liberals become the tax and spend Liberals. The surplus has disappeared. The Minister of Finance may be able to hide the surplus from ordinary Canadians, but what he cannot hide is the Liberal contempt for the ordinary taxpayers of Canada.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, when we hear the finance minister talk about debt reduction he sounds like a used car dealer. No money down, no payments this year. That is his commitment to debt reduction. It is not a genuine commitment, and we know better. Canadians are wondering what the Minister of Finance did with the $3 billion reserve fund this year.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, what Canadians will see this afternoon in this budget is not necessarily what they will get. The Minister of Finance may have black ink on his hands but Canadians are still covered in red ink. Personal debt is up. Personal savings are down. Personal bankruptcies are up.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, today is an important day for all Canadians who have sacrificed heavily.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, before the seals become too excited, they should realize that The Economist magazine says much of the credit for the fiscal surplus is due to structural changes made by the Conservative government in the early 1990s. Let us face it. The real heroes are ordinary Canadians who have suffered under Liberal cuts to health care and education and who have suffered under the highest taxation of all the G-7 countries.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, first I want to commend the minister on his evolution from a vociferous opponent of free trade to now an ardent supporter of the principles that my party has supported since before 1988. My question for the minister is relative to the Australian model for treaty negotiation which was introduced by Alexander Downer, foreign minister, in May 1996.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, with the government's high tax policies the best way to start a small business in Canada is to start a big one and wait. High taxes, especially payroll taxes, continue to deny Canadians real employment growth. Will the Minister of Finance offer meaningful tax relief to small businesses to get governments off their backs and to get employment growth back on track?

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, that answer does not work for Canadians and it does not put Canadians back to work. My second question is about tax relief for low income Canadians. Our party has been putting this issue on the table for 18 months but the finance minister refuses to commit to any specific relief.

Supply  Madam Speaker, this is one of those issues which helps our party to define itself as being different from the other party to which it seems to be compared periodically, that being the Reform Party. We were unequivocal in our support for a cultural exemption and we will fight to ensure it.

Supply  Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time. In our party we have fought very hard over the past several weeks prior to the compilation of the report on the MAI from the subcommittee to ensure that culture is protected. I want to clarify for this House that it was a Progressive Conservative intervention which made as part of the recommendations of the report that culture would achieve deal breaker status.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, sound long term economic policy takes years to have an effect. It also takes consistency. Let us talk about consistency. The hon. member was first elected to this House in 1988 I believe. As I said, consistency is critical when we are talking about sound economic policy.