Mr. Blaine Calkins

Mr. Speaker, this is a matter that deals with a social transfer. It is a massive block of money that is sent from the federal government to the provincial government, so it can choose how it wants to allocate that money in the province. The member is absolutely correct. It can go to education and other programs. That is the old way of doing business, which is to have one government passing money on to another level of government with strings attached and have governments squabble and quibble over the money.

I am proud and very happy about this budget as somebody who received a post-secondary education for eight years and had to apply for loans the whole time. As a former faculty member at a post-secondary institution in my home province, post-secondary education has been very important to me. I never got any money back or a tax credit for $10,000 worth of books that I bought, but finally, this government is putting money back in the hands of those students. I had money given to me for bursaries that was clawed back in income tax. We are addressing--

Mr. Blaine Calkins (Wetaskiwin, CPC)

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague spoke quite a bit about education in her speech. I am a former faculty member of a college in Alberta for the last five years and I have a post-secondary education, with three different post-secondaries. When I was young and going to university, I applied for student loans.

Coming from a farm background, we were a fairly poor family. I would apply for and get a fairly good student loan and a bit of a bursary. Then I found out, when I worked and had to claim that as income, a bunch of the bursary was clawed back from me at the end of the tax year. I could not claim for books or for any of those things.

Could the member elaborate on how much money a student will be able to earn in a given year, including bursaries, before they are even on the tax roll? I know it is quite a significant number, so I hope she can tell me that.

Mr. Blaine Calkins (Wetaskiwin, CPC)

Mr. Speaker, this government celebrated its 100 day milestone last week with a budget that brought tax relief to all Canadians.

TV jingles promote the fact that cars cost less in Wetaskiwin, but on July 1, they will be even more affordable when the GST is reduced to 6%. Rodeo fans celebrating Canada Day at the renowned Ponoka Stampede will pay less GST on their tickets.

Farmers and producers gathering at the Rimbey and Thorsby auction markets are relieved to finally have a government that is keeping its promises and delivering more effective disaster relief and farm income stabilization programs.

Soccer moms and hockey dads at rinks and sports fields in Lacombe are applauding the government for keeping its promise to provide a tax credit for registration fees for their children's sports.

Seniors in Rocky Mountain House are welcoming the budget initiative that doubles the amount of eligible pension income they can claim under the pension income credit.

Families in Eckville are glad to finally be trusted to make their own choices in child care.

The constituents of Wetaskiwin can look forward to tax relief and greater prosperity thanks to this government.

Mr. Blaine Calkins (Wetaskiwin, CPC)

Mr. Speaker, in his address, the hon. member made several points that referenced Quebec. I would like to ask him if the people of Quebec and the people in his riding openly welcome the changes made in the accountability act so that the kind of embarrassing things that happened under the previous Liberal administration will not happen again and the people of Quebec will not have to wear that type of humiliation again in their province?

Mr. Blaine Calkins

Mr. Speaker, I am the member for Wetaskiwin. I will let the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke answer the question when she has the opportunity to do so.

However, I would point out to my colleague from the Bloc Québécois that right now there are about 370,000 children in the province of Quebec who would qualify for the $1,200 a year payment which would result in payments to Quebec in the order of $444 million per year. That is substantially more than the $1.2 billion over five years promised by the previous Liberal government. I would just throw that back at the member and suggest that perhaps this plan is better for the people of Quebec and it will put more money in the hands of the parents to make the choices they need to make for their children and families.