Mr. Speaker, before I begin my remarks, I would like to indicate that I will be splitting my time with my colleague, the member for Winnipeg South Centre.

I appreciate this opportunity to address the motion of my colleague, with whom I sit on the finance committee, on the state of the nation's finances. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have continually said that the global economy remains fragile. Events beyond our borders, including the falling price of oil, can affect our economy. That is why it is more important than ever for our government to stay the course with a steady plan to balance the budget, create jobs, and secure Canada's long-term prosperity.

Let me be clear. Our government remains committed to balancing the budget in 2015. Despite the changing international situation, Canada's economy remains strong. Since coming to office in 2006, our government has had the best job creation record in the G7 and we are leading in economic growth.

Since the depth of the recession, more than 1.2 million net new jobs have been created, with 82% being full time, 84% of them in the private sector, and 66% in the high-wage industries. This record is the result of the resiliency of the Canadian people and the efforts of our government through Canada's economic action plan.

Our government has put tax relief at the core of all of our budgets, and we have a proven record of continuously lowering taxes and tariffs to the benefit of all Canadians, particularly hard-working Canadian families.

Our government remains focused on what matters most to Canadians. In fact, actions taken by our government since 2006, including the measures we announced in October for families with children, will provide tax relief and benefits of up to $6,600 for a typical two-earner family of four. We have lowered 150 different taxes since taking office in 2006, and the overall tax burden is now at its lowest level in more than 50 years. This is an achievement of which we can be proud.

Families will soon see the benefit of our proposals to increase and expand the universal child care benefit, which will provide an additional $720 per child to families with children under the age of 18. This is in addition to our family tax cut, which will establish fairness in the tax system for parents who earn different incomes. Taken together, our new measures will provide benefits to every single family with children under the age of 18 in the country.

In providing this support for hard-working Canadian families, our government has not deviated from our commitment to balance the budget. We will balance the budget in 2015, while delivering close to $27 billion in tax relief and increased benefits for hard-working families over this year and the next five years.

The opposition, on the other hand, would jeopardize this tax relief, taking away benefits from hard-working Canadians at a time when they need it most. Some of my esteemed colleagues across the floor would argue that there is no harm in running a deficit in 2015 to pay for new, costly, and unnecessary programs. We on this side, however, do not. Balancing the budget is a means to increase Canada's economic potential to improve employment opportunities for Canadians by creating more good-quality full-time jobs and to raise our citizens' standard of living.

The benefits of balancing the budget and reducing the debt are many. Some of these include ensuring that tax dollars are used to support important social services like elderly benefits and health care rather than paying interest costs, instilling confidence in consumers and investors whose dollars spur economic growth and job creation, and strengthening Canada's ability to respond to longer term challenges such as population aging, unexpected global economic shocks, and global security threats.

We need to stay firm to our commitment to the Canadian people to balance the budget, a commitment that we have reaffirmed to Canadians time and time again. While the global economy may be struggling, the fundamentals of our economy remain strong. We must address our challenges not by engaging in reckless fearmongering or spending, as the opposition would suggest, but by following through on our commitments and continuing to move forward with our low-tax plan to create jobs, promote growth, and secure our long-term prosperity.

Recently our government took actions to stay the course and build on our record. As previously mentioned, we invested in tax relief for Canadian families that will pay dividends for generations to come. We also created the small business job credit, a tax credit that will provide an estimated savings of approximately $550 million for job-creating small businesses. We invested $5.8 billion in additional infrastructure investments that are crucial to supporting our economic growth. I am confident that as a result of these actions Canada's economy will continue to grow and create jobs. Budget 2015 will build on this record.

In the lead-up to the budget, our government will survey private sector economists to ensure that we have the most up-to-date views, including their views, on the economic impact of lower oil prices. This is a practice that has been done for nearly two decades.

We will not change our plans to indulge in the opposition's hysteria. We will remain committed to our plan. Our economic action plan has seen Canada perform strongly through these uncertain times. With the help of our economic action plan, Canada was able to weather the storm when the global economic crisis arrived in 2008. We have emerged stronger, with more jobs and stronger growth.

By balancing the budget, our government is not only fulfilling our commitment but also protecting ourselves from future volatility.

In conclusion, our government will balance our budget in 2015 without raising taxes or reducing funding for health care and important social programs. We will stay the course and provide the steady fiscal management that Canadians have come to expect and demand. We will not engage in irresponsible spending, as the opposition suggests, and will remain committed to our core principles of job creation and low taxes.

Low taxes help Canadians succeed in the global economy through the creation of high-quality jobs and opportunities for success. Our success is not based on chance, but rather choice. Budget 2015 will be the next chapter in our government's long-term plan to strengthen the Canadian economy in an uncertain world. This next chapter of our plan will build on our strong record to date.

Taken together, the measures our government has introduced since 2006 and those to come in budget 2015 will continue to keep taxes low and help Canadians succeed in the global economy to create jobs, growth, and long-term prosperity for all Canadians.

Mark Adler

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