Canadians should take comfort in knowing that the federal debt is being slashed ahead of schedule.

This year alone, we plan to reduce the debt by $10 billion. It will bring total debt reduction to more than $37 billion since 2005-06, which lowers the debt burden by $1,570 per person. I have advocated reducing the federal debt every since I was first elected because I don’t want to download our spending on future generations. At last we are making substantial headway.

Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty recently tabled the Debt Management Report in Parliament for 2006-07. The report shows that the government has surpassed its own goals in reducing the federal debt. Not surprisingly, slaying this economic dragon is a cornerstone of our party policy.

Does accumulating debt really matter to the average Canadian? Debt reduction does indeed make a difference to individuals, families and businesses because lower debt translates into lower interest charges and therefore, lower taxes. Under the government’s Tax Back Guarantee, the interest saved from the shrinking debt is used to further reduce personal income taxes. Coupled with all of the other initiatives recently put in place to lower taxes, this is encouraging news for everyone.

Under this government’s long-term economic plan, Advantage Canada, we intend to totally eliminate the net debt in less than a generation. Not long ago, it appeared that our rampant spending was going to saddle our children and their children with a crushing debt they didn’t create. With Advantage Canada, we won’t be passing our problems along to our grandchildren.

Responsible Canadians know that to keep their own financial house in order, they must pay down their mortgage and make regular credit card payments. Somehow, the previous government lost sight of this basic economic principle and Canada slid deeper into debt. That slide has ended and we are heading toward a more prosperous future.

With a debt of $419 billion still on the books, we aren’t out of the woods yet, but our battle plan is designed to make it a thing of the past. As taxes come down along with the debt, we can all rest easy knowing that at last we have a Minister of Finance who is watching our collective back.

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